II 

Calendar No. 177 

115TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 1603 

[Report No. 115–131] 

Making appropriations for Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug 

Administration, and Related Agencies programs for the fiscal year ending 

September 30, 2018, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JULY 20, 2017 

Mr. HOEVEN, from the Committee on Appropriations, reported the following 

original bill; which was read twice and placed on the calendar 

A BILL 

Making appropriations for Agriculture, Rural Development, 

Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies 

programs for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2018, 

and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 That the following sums are appropriated, out of any 

4 money in the Treasury not otherwise appropriated, for Ag5 riculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administra6 tion, and Related Agencies programs for the fiscal year 
2 

•S 1603 PCS

1 ending September 30, 2018, and for other purposes, 

2 namely: 

3 TITLE I 

4 AGRICULTURAL PROGRAMS 

5 PROCESSING, RESEARCH AND MARKETING

6 OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY

7 (INCLUDING TRANSFERS OF FUNDS)

8 For necessary expenses of the Office of the Secretary, 

9 $48,355,000, of which not to exceed $5,051,000 shall be 

10 available for the immediate Office of the Secretary; not 

11 to exceed $502,000 shall be available for the Office of 

12 Tribal Relations; not to exceed $800,000 shall be available 

13 for the Assistant to the Secretary for Rural Development: 

14 Provided, That funds made available by this Act to an 

15 agency in the Rural Development mission area for salaries 

16 and expenses are available to fund up to one administra17 tive support staff for the Assistant; not to exceed 

18 $1,496,000 shall be available for the Office of Homeland 

19 Security and Emergency Coordination; not to exceed 

20 $4,209,000 shall be available for the Office of Advocacy 

21 and Outreach; not to exceed $24,928,000 shall be avail22 able for the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Adminis23 tration, of which $24,124,000 shall be available for De24 partmental Administration to provide for necessary ex25 penses for management support services to offices of the 
3 

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1 Department and for general administration, security, re2 pairs and alterations, and other miscellaneous supplies 

3 and expenses not otherwise provided for and necessary for 

4 the practical and efficient work of the Department: Pro5 vided further, That funds made available by this Act to 

6 an agency in the Administration mission area for salaries 

7 and expenses are available to fund up to one administra8 tive support staff for the Office; not to exceed $3,869,000 

9 shall be available for the Office of Assistant Secretary for 

10 Congressional Relations to carry out the programs funded 

11 by this Act, including programs involving intergovern12 mental affairs and liaison within the executive branch; and 

13 not to exceed $7,500,000 shall be available for the Office 

14 of Communications: Provided further, That the Secretary 

15 of Agriculture is authorized to transfer funds appropriated 

16 for any office of the Office of the Secretary to any other 

17 office of the Office of the Secretary: Provided further, That 

18 no appropriation for any office shall be increased or de19 creased by more than 5 percent: Provided further, That 

20 not to exceed $11,000 of the amount made available under 

21 this paragraph for the immediate Office of the Secretary 

22 shall be available for official reception and representation 

23 expenses, not otherwise provided for, as determined by the 

24 Secretary: Provided further, That the amount made avail25 able under this heading for Departmental Administration 
4 

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1 shall be reimbursed from applicable appropriations in this 

2 Act for travel expenses incident to the holding of hearings 

3 as required by 5 U.S.C. 551–558: Provided further, That 

4 funds made available under this heading for the Office of 

5 the Assistant Secretary for Congressional Relations may 

6 be transferred to agencies of the Department of Agri7 culture funded by this Act to maintain personnel at the 

8 agency level: Provided further, That no funds made avail9 able under this heading for the Office of Assistant Sec10 retary for Congressional Relations may be obligated after 

11 30 days from the date of enactment of this Act, unless 

12 the Secretary has notified the Committees on Appropria13 tions of both Houses of Congress on the allocation of these 

14 funds by USDA agency. 

15 EXECUTIVE OPERATIONS

16 OFFICE OF THE CHIEF ECONOMIST

17 For necessary expenses of the Office of the Chief 

18 Economist, $16,917,000, of which $4,000,000 shall be for 

19 grants or cooperative agreements for policy research under 

20 7 U.S.C. 3155. 

21 OFFICE OF HEARINGS AND APPEALS

22 For necessary expenses of the Office of Hearings and 

23 Appeals, $13,399,000. 
5 

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1 OFFICE OF BUDGET AND PROGRAM ANALYSIS

2 For necessary expenses of the Office of Budget and 

3 Program Analysis, $9,525,000. 

4 OFFICE OF THE CHIEF INFORMATION OFFICER

5 For necessary expenses of the Office of the Chief In6 formation Officer, $58,950,000. 

7 OFFICE OF THE CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER

8 For necessary expenses of the Office of the Chief Fi9 nancial Officer, $8,028,000. 

10 OFFICE OF THE ASSISTANT SECRETARY FOR CIVIL

11 RIGHTS

12 For necessary expenses of the Office of the Assistant 

13 Secretary for Civil Rights, $901,000: Provided, That 

14 funds made available by this Act to an agency in the Civil 

15 Rights mission area for salaries and expenses are available 

16 to fund up to one administrative support staff for the Of17 fice. 

18 OFFICE OF CIVIL RIGHTS

19 For necessary expenses of the Office of Civil Rights, 

20 $24,206,000. 

21 AGRICULTURE BUILDINGS AND FACILITIES

22 (INCLUDING TRANSFERS OF FUNDS)

23 For payment of space rental and related costs pursu24 ant to Public Law 92–313, including authorities pursuant 

25 to the 1984 delegation of authority from the Adminis-
6 

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1 trator of General Services to the Department of Agri2 culture under 40 U.S.C. 121, for programs and activities 

3 of the Department which are included in this Act, and for 

4 alterations and other actions needed for the Department 

5 and its agencies to consolidate unneeded space into con6 figurations suitable for release to the Administrator of 

7 General Services, and for the operation, maintenance, im8 provement, and repair of Agriculture buildings and facili9 ties, and for related costs, $67,293,000, to remain avail10 able until expended. 

11 HAZARDOUS MATERIALS MANAGEMENT

12 (INCLUDING TRANSFERS OF FUNDS)

13 For necessary expenses of the Department of Agri14 culture, to comply with the Comprehensive Environmental 

15 Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (42 U.S.C. 

16 9601 et seq.) and the Resource Conservation and Recovery 

17 Act (42 U.S.C. 6901 et seq.), $3,633,000, to remain avail18 able until expended: Provided, That appropriations and 

19 funds available herein to the Department for Hazardous 

20 Materials Management may be transferred to any agency 

21 of the Department for its use in meeting all requirements 

22 pursuant to the above Acts on Federal and non-Federal 

23 lands. 
7 

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1 OFFICE OF INSPECTOR GENERAL

2 For necessary expenses of the Office of Inspector 

3 General, including employment pursuant to the Inspector 

4 General Act of 1978, $98,208,000, including such sums 

5 as may be necessary for contracting and other arrange6 ments with public agencies and private persons pursuant 

7 to section 6(a)(9) of the Inspector General Act of 1978, 

8 and including not to exceed $125,000 for certain confiden9 tial operational expenses, including the payment of inform10 ants, to be expended under the direction of the Inspector 

11 General pursuant to Public Law 95–452 and section 1337 

12 of Public Law 97–98. 

13 OFFICE OF THE GENERAL COUNSEL

14 For necessary expenses of the Office of the General 

15 Counsel, $44,697,000. 

16 OFFICE OF ETHICS

17 For necessary expenses of the Office of Ethics, 

18 $4,136,000. 

19 OFFICE OF THE UNDER SECRETARY FOR RESEARCH, 

20 EDUCATION, AND ECONOMICS

21 For necessary expenses of the Office of the Under 

22 Secretary for Research, Education, and Economics, 

23 $893,000: Provided, That funds made available by this 

24 Act to an agency in the Research, Education and Econom25 ics mission area for salaries and expenses are available 
8 

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1 to fund up to one administrative support staff for the Of2 fice. 

3 ECONOMIC RESEARCH SERVICE

4 For necessary expenses of the Economic Research 

5 Service, $86,757,000. 

6 NATIONAL AGRICULTURAL STATISTICS SERVICE

7 For necessary expenses of the National Agricultural 

8 Statistics Service, $191,717,000, of which up to 

9 $63,350,000 shall be available until expended for the Cen10 sus of Agriculture: Provided, That amounts made available 

11 for the Census of Agriculture may be used to conduct Cur12 rent Industrial Report surveys subject to 7 U.S.C. 

13 2204g(d) and (f). 

14 AGRICULTURAL RESEARCH SERVICE

15 SALARIES AND EXPENSES

16 For necessary expenses of the Agricultural Research 

17 Service and for acquisition of lands by donation, exchange, 

18 or purchase at a nominal cost not to exceed $100, and 

19 for land exchanges where the lands exchanged shall be of 

20 equal value or shall be equalized by a payment of money 

21 to the grantor which shall not exceed 25 percent of the 

22 total value of the land or interests transferred out of Fed23 eral ownership, $1,182,435,000: Provided, That appro24 priations hereunder shall be available for the operation 

25 and maintenance of aircraft and the purchase of not to 
9 

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1 exceed one for replacement only: Provided further, That 

2 appropriations hereunder shall be available pursuant to 7 

3 U.S.C. 2250 for the construction, alteration, and repair 

4 of buildings and improvements, but unless otherwise pro5 vided, the cost of constructing any one building shall not 

6 exceed $500,000, except for headhouses or greenhouses 

7 which shall each be limited to $1,800,000, except for 10 

8 buildings to be constructed or improved at a cost not to 

9 exceed $1,100,000 each, and except for two buildings to 

10 be constructed at a cost not to exceed $3,000,000 each, 

11 and the cost of altering any one building during the fiscal 

12 year shall not exceed 10 percent of the current replace13 ment value of the building or $500,000, whichever is 

14 greater: Provided further, That appropriations hereunder 

15 shall be available for entering into lease agreements at any 

16 Agricultural Research Service location for the construction 

17 of a research facility by a non-Federal entity for use by 

18 the Agricultural Research Service and a condition of the 

19 lease shall be that any facility shall be owned, operated, 

20 and maintained by the non-Federal entity and shall be re21 moved upon the expiration or termination of the lease 

22 agreement: Provided further, That the limitations on alter23 ations contained in this Act shall not apply to moderniza24 tion or replacement of existing facilities at Beltsville, 

25 Maryland: Provided further, That appropriations here-
10 

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1 under shall be available for granting easements at the 

2 Beltsville Agricultural Research Center: Provided further, 

3 That the foregoing limitations shall not apply to replace4 ment of buildings needed to carry out the Act of April 

5 24, 1948 (21 U.S.C. 113a): Provided further, That appro6 priations hereunder shall be available for granting ease7 ments at any Agricultural Research Service location for 

8 the construction of a research facility by a non-Federal 

9 entity for use by, and acceptable to, the Agricultural Re10 search Service and a condition of the easements shall be 

11 that upon completion the facility shall be accepted by the 

12 Secretary, subject to the availability of funds herein, if the 

13 Secretary finds that acceptance of the facility is in the 

14 interest of the United States: Provided further, That funds 

15 may be received from any State, other political subdivi16 sion, organization, or individual for the purpose of estab17 lishing or operating any research facility or research 

18 project of the Agricultural Research Service, as authorized 

19 by law. 

20 NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF FOOD AND AGRICULTURE

21 RESEARCH AND EDUCATION ACTIVITIES

22 For payments to agricultural experiment stations, for 

23 cooperative forestry and other research, for facilities, and 

24 for other expenses, $854,871,000, which shall be for the 

25 purposes, and in the amounts, specified in the table titled 
11 

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1 ‘‘National Institute of Food and Agriculture, Research 

2 and Education Activities’’ in the report accompanying this 

3 Act: Provided, That funds for research grants for 1994 

4 institutions, education grants for 1890 institutions, capac5 ity building for non-land-grant colleges of agriculture, the 

6 agriculture and food research initiative, veterinary medi7 cine loan repayment, multicultural scholars, graduate fel8 lowship and institution challenge grants, and grants man9 agement systems shall remain available until expended: 

10 Provided further, That each institution eligible to receive 

11 funds under the Evans-Allen program receives no less 

12 than $1,000,000: Provided further, That funds for edu13 cation grants for Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian14 serving institutions be made available to individual eligible 

15 institutions or consortia of eligible institutions with funds 

16 awarded equally to each of the States of Alaska and Ha17 waii: Provided further, That funds for education grants for 

18 1890 institutions shall be made available to institutions 

19 eligible to receive funds under 7 U.S.C. 3221 and 3222: 

20 Provided further, That not more than 5 percent of the 

21 amounts made available by this or any other Act to carry 

22 out the Agriculture and Food Research Initiative under 

23 7 U.S.C. 450i(b) may be retained by the Secretary of Ag24 riculture to pay administrative costs incurred by the Sec25 retary in carrying out that authority. 
12 

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1 NATIVE AMERICAN INSTITUTIONS ENDOWMENT FUND

2 For the Native American Institutions Endowment 

3 Fund authorized by Public Law 103–382 (7 U.S.C. 301 

4 note), $11,880,000, to remain available until expended. 

5 EXTENSION ACTIVITIES

6 For payments to States, the District of Columbia, 

7 Puerto Rico, Guam, the Virgin Islands, Micronesia, the 

8 Northern Marianas, and American Samoa, $481,376,000, 

9 which shall be for the purposes, and in the amounts, speci10 fied in the table titled ‘‘National Institute of Food and 

11 Agriculture, Extension Activities’’ in the report accom12 panying this Act: Provided, That funds for facility im13 provements at 1890 institutions shall remain available 

14 until expended: Provided further, That institutions eligible 

15 to receive funds under 7 U.S.C. 3221 for cooperative ex16 tension receive no less than $1,000,000: Provided further, 

17 That funds for cooperative extension under sections 3(b) 

18 and (c) of the Smith-Lever Act (7 U.S.C. 343(b) and (c)) 

19 and section 208(c) of Public Law 93–471 shall be avail20 able for retirement and employees’ compensation costs for 

21 extension agents. 

22 INTEGRATED ACTIVITIES

23 For the integrated research, education, and extension 

24 grants programs, including necessary administrative ex25 penses, $37,000,000, which shall be for the purposes, and 
13 

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1 in the amounts, specified in the table titled ‘‘National In2 stitute of Food and Agriculture, Integrated Activities’’ in 

3 the report accompanying this Act: Provided, That funds 

4 for the Food and Agriculture Defense Initiative shall re5 main available until September 30, 2019: Provided further, 

6 That notwithstanding any other provision of law, indirect 

7 costs shall not be charged against any Extension Imple8 mentation Program Area grant awarded under the Crop 

9 Protection/Pest Management Program (7 U.S.C. 7626). 

10 OFFICE OF THE UNDER SECRETARY FOR MARKETING

11 AND REGULATORY PROGRAMS

12 For necessary expenses of the Office of the Under 

13 Secretary for Marketing and Regulatory Programs, 

14 $901,000: Provided, That funds made available by this 

15 Act to an agency in the Marketing and Regulatory Pro16 grams mission area for salaries and expenses are available 

17 to fund up to one administrative support staff for the Of18 fice. 

19 ANIMAL AND PLANT HEALTH INSPECTION SERVICE

20 SALARIES AND EXPENSES

21 (INCLUDING TRANSFERS OF FUNDS)

22 For necessary expenses of the Animal and Plant 

23 Health Inspection Service, including up to $30,000 for 

24 representation allowances and for expenses pursuant to 

25 the Foreign Service Act of 1980 (22 U.S.C. 4085), 
14 

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1 $953,212,000, of which $470,000, to remain available 

2 until expended, shall be available for the control of out3 breaks of insects, plant diseases, animal diseases and for 

4 control of pest animals and birds (‘‘contingency fund’’) to 

5 the extent necessary to meet emergency conditions; of 

6 which $11,520,000, to remain available until expended, 

7 shall be used for the cotton pests program for cost share 

8 purposes or for debt retirement for active eradication 

9 zones; of which $37,857,000, to remain available until ex10 pended, shall be for Animal Health Technical Services; of 

11 which $697,000 shall be for activities under the authority 

12 of the Horse Protection Act of 1970, as amended (15 

13 U.S.C. 1831); of which $55,340,000, to remain available 

14 until expended, shall be used to support avian health; of 

15 which $4,251,000, to remain available until expended, 

16 shall be for information technology infrastructure; of 

17 which $166,500,000, to remain available until expended, 

18 shall be for specialty crop pests; of which, $8,826,000, to 

19 remain available until expended, shall be for field crop and 

20 rangeland ecosystem pests; of which $16,523,000, to re21 main available until expended, shall be for zoonotic disease 

22 management; of which $40,966,000, to remain available 

23 until expended, shall be for emergency preparedness and 

24 response; of which $56,000,000, to remain available until 

25 expended, shall be for tree and wood pests; of which 
15 

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1 $5,723,000, to remain available until expended, shall be 

2 for the National Veterinary Stockpile; of which up to 

3 $1,500,000, to remain available until expended, shall be 

4 for the scrapie program for indemnities; of which 

5 $2,500,000, to remain available until expended, shall be 

6 for the wildlife damage management program for aviation 

7 safety: Provided, That of amounts available under this 

8 heading for wildlife services methods development, 

9 $1,000,000 shall remain available until expended: Pro10 vided further, That of amounts available under this head11 ing for the screwworm program, $4,990,000 shall remain 

12 available until expended; of which $3,000,000, to remain 

13 available until expended, shall be for National Bio and 

14 Agro-Defense human capital development: Provided fur15 ther, That no funds shall be used to formulate or admin16 ister a brucellosis eradication program for the current fis17 cal year that does not require minimum matching by the 

18 States of at least 40 percent: Provided further, That this 

19 appropriation shall be available for the operation and 

20 maintenance of aircraft and the purchase of not to exceed 

21 five, of which two shall be for replacement only: Provided 

22 further, That in addition, in emergencies which threaten 

23 any segment of the agricultural production industry of this 

24 country, the Secretary may transfer from other appropria25 tions or funds available to the agencies or corporations 
16 

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1 of the Department such sums as may be deemed nec2 essary, to be available only in such emergencies for the 

3 arrest and eradication of contagious or infectious disease 

4 or pests of animals, poultry, or plants, and for expenses 

5 in accordance with sections 10411 and 10417 of the Ani6 mal Health Protection Act (7 U.S.C. 8310 and 8316) and 

7 sections 431 and 442 of the Plant Protection Act (7 

8 U.S.C. 7751 and 7772), and any unexpended balances of 

9 funds transferred for such emergency purposes in the pre10 ceding fiscal year shall be merged with such transferred 

11 amounts: Provided further, That appropriations hereunder 

12 shall be available pursuant to law (7 U.S.C. 2250) for the 

13 repair and alteration of leased buildings and improve14 ments, but unless otherwise provided the cost of altering 

15 any one building during the fiscal year shall not exceed 

16 10 percent of the current replacement value of the build17 ing. 

18 In fiscal year 2018, the agency is authorized to collect 

19 fees to cover the total costs of providing technical assist20 ance, goods, or services requested by States, other political 

21 subdivisions, domestic and international organizations, 

22 foreign governments, or individuals, provided that such 

23 fees are structured such that any entity’s liability for such 

24 fees is reasonably based on the technical assistance, goods, 

25 or services provided to the entity by the agency, and such 
17 

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1 fees shall be reimbursed to this account, to remain avail2 able until expended, without further appropriation, for 

3 providing such assistance, goods, or services. 

4 BUILDINGS AND FACILITIES

5 For plans, construction, repair, preventive mainte6 nance, environmental support, improvement, extension, al7 teration, and purchase of fixed equipment or facilities, as 

8 authorized by 7 U.S.C. 2250, and acquisition of land as 

9 authorized by 7 U.S.C. 428a, $3,175,000, to remain avail10 able until expended. 

11 AGRICULTURAL MARKETING SERVICE

12 MARKETING SERVICES

13 For necessary expenses of the Agricultural Marketing 

14 Service, $88,933,000, of which $3,000,000 shall be avail15 able for the purposes of section 12306 of Public Law 113– 

16 79: Provided, That this appropriation shall be available 

17 pursuant to law (7 U.S.C. 2250) for the alteration and 

18 repair of buildings and improvements, but the cost of al19 tering any one building during the fiscal year shall not 

20 exceed 10 percent of the current replacement value of the 

21 building. 

22 Fees may be collected for the cost of standardization 

23 activities, as established by regulation pursuant to law (31 

24 U.S.C. 9701). 
18 

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1 LIMITATION ON ADMINISTRATIVE EXPENSES

2 Not to exceed $60,982,000 (from fees collected) shall 

3 be obligated during the current fiscal year for administra4 tive expenses: Provided, That if crop size is understated 

5 and/or other uncontrollable events occur, the agency may 

6 exceed this limitation by up to 10 percent with notification 

7 to the Committees on Appropriations of both Houses of 

8 Congress. 

9 FUNDS FOR STRENGTHENING MARKETS, INCOME, AND

10 SUPPLY (SECTION 32)

11 (INCLUDING TRANSFERS OF FUNDS)

12 Funds available under section 32 of the Act of Au13 gust 24, 1935 (7 U.S.C. 612c), shall be used only for com14 modity program expenses as authorized therein, and other 

15 related operating expenses, except for: (1) transfers to the 

16 Department of Commerce as authorized by the Fish and 

17 Wildlife Act of August 8, 1956; (2) transfers otherwise 

18 provided in this Act; and (3) not more than $20,489,000 

19 for formulation and administration of marketing agree20 ments and orders pursuant to the Agricultural Marketing 

21 Agreement Act of 1937 and the Agricultural Act of 1961. 

22 PAYMENTS TO STATES AND POSSESSIONS

23 For payments to departments of agriculture, bureaus 

24 and departments of markets, and similar agencies for 

25 marketing activities under section 204(b) of the Agricul-
19 

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1 tural Marketing Act of 1946 (7 U.S.C. 1623(b)), 

2 $1,235,000. 

3 GRAIN INSPECTION, PACKERS AND STOCKYARDS

4 ADMINISTRATION

5 SALARIES AND EXPENSES

6 For necessary expenses of the Grain Inspection, 

7 Packers and Stockyards Administration, $43,482,000: 

8 Provided, That this appropriation shall be available pursu9 ant to law (7 U.S.C. 2250) for the alteration and repair 

10 of buildings and improvements, but the cost of altering 

11 any one building during the fiscal year shall not exceed 

12 10 percent of the current replacement value of the build13 ing. 

14 LIMITATION ON INSPECTION AND WEIGHING SERVICES

15 EXPENSES

16 Not to exceed $57,500,000 (from fees collected) shall 

17 be obligated during the current fiscal year for inspection 

18 and weighing services: Provided, That if grain export ac19 tivities require additional supervision and oversight, or 

20 other uncontrollable factors occur, this limitation may be 

21 exceeded by up to 10 percent with notification to the Com22 mittees on Appropriations of both Houses of Congress. 

23 OFFICE OF THE UNDER SECRETARY FOR FOOD SAFETY

24 For necessary expenses of the Office of the Under 

25 Secretary for Food Safety, $819,000: Provided, That 
20 

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1 funds made available by this Act to an agency in the Food 

2 Safety mission area for salaries and expenses are available 

3 to fund up to one administrative support staff for the Of4 fice. 

5 FOOD SAFETY AND INSPECTION SERVICE

6 For necessary expenses to carry out services author7 ized by the Federal Meat Inspection Act, the Poultry 

8 Products Inspection Act, and the Egg Products Inspection 

9 Act, including not to exceed $50,000 for representation 

10 allowances and for expenses pursuant to section 8 of the 

11 Act approved August 3, 1956 (7 U.S.C. 1766), 

12 $1,038,069,000; and in addition, $1,000,000 may be cred13 ited to this account from fees collected for the cost of lab14 oratory accreditation as authorized by section 1327 of the 

15 Food, Agriculture, Conservation and Trade Act of 1990 

16 (7 U.S.C. 138f): Provided, That funds provided for the 

17 Public Health Data Communication Infrastructure system 

18 shall remain available until expended: Provided further, 

19 That no fewer than 148 full-time equivalent positions shall 

20 be employed during fiscal year 2018 for purposes dedi21 cated solely to inspections and enforcement related to the 

22 Humane Methods of Slaughter Act: Provided further, That 

23 the Food Safety and Inspection Service shall continue im24 plementation of section 11016 of Public Law 110–246 as 

25 further clarified by the amendments made in section 
21 

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1 12106 of Public Law 113–79: Provided further, That this 

2 appropriation shall be available pursuant to law (7 U.S.C. 

3 2250) for the alteration and repair of buildings and im4 provements, but the cost of altering any one building dur5 ing the fiscal year shall not exceed 10 percent of the cur6 rent replacement value of the building. 
22 

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1 TITLE II 

2 OFFICE OF THE UNDER SECRETARY FOR FARM

3 PRODUCTION AND CONSERVATION

4 For necessary expenses of the Office of the Under 

5 Secretary for Farm Production and Conservation, 

6 $901,000: Provided, That funds made available by this 

7 Act to an agency in the Farm Production and Conserva8 tion mission area for salaries and expenses are available 

9 to fund up to one administrative support staff for the Of10 fice. 

11 FARM SERVICE AGENCY

12 SALARIES AND EXPENSES

13 (INCLUDING TRANSFERS OF FUNDS)

14 For necessary expenses of the Farm Service Agency, 

15 $1,212,116,000: Provided, That not more than 50 percent 

16 of the $78,013,000 made available under this heading for 

17 information technology related to farm program delivery, 

18 including the Modernize and Innovate the Delivery of Ag19 ricultural Systems and other farm program delivery sys20 tems, may be obligated until the Secretary submits to the 

21 Committees on Appropriations of both Houses of Congress 

22 a plan for expenditure that (1) identifies for each project/ 

23 investment over $25,000 (a) the functional and perform24 ance capabilities to be delivered and the mission benefits 

25 to be realized, (b) the estimated lifecycle cost, including 
23 

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1 estimates for development as well as maintenance and op2 erations, and (c) key milestones to be met; (2) dem3 onstrates that each project/investment is, (a) consistent 

4 with the Farm Service Agency Information Technology 

5 Roadmap, (b) being managed in accordance with applica6 ble lifecycle management policies and guidance, and (c) 

7 subject to the applicable Department’s capital planning 

8 and investment control requirements; and (3) has been re9 viewed by the Government Accountability Office and ap10 proved by the Committees on Appropriations of both 

11 Houses of Congress: Provided further, That the agency 

12 shall submit a report by the end of the fourth quarter of 

13 fiscal year 2018 to the Committees on Appropriations and 

14 the Government Accountability Office, that identifies for 

15 each project/investment that is operational (a) current 

16 performance against key indicators of customer satisfac17 tion, (b) current performance of service level agreements 

18 or other technical metrics, (c) current performance against 

19 a pre-established cost baseline, (d) a detailed breakdown 

20 of current and planned spending on operational enhance21 ments or upgrades, and (e) an assessment of whether the 

22 investment continues to meet business needs as intended 

23 as well as alternatives to the investment: Provided further, 

24 That the Secretary is authorized to use the services, facili25 ties, and authorities (but not the funds) of the Commodity 
24 

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1 Credit Corporation to make program payments for all pro2 grams administered by the Agency: Provided further, That 

3 other funds made available to the Agency for authorized 

4 activities may be advanced to and merged with this ac5 count: Provided further, That funds made available to 

6 county committees shall remain available until expended: 

7 Provided further, That none of the funds available to the 

8 Farm Service Agency shall be used to close Farm Service 

9 Agency county offices: Provided further, That none of the 

10 funds available to the Farm Service Agency shall be used 

11 to permanently relocate county based employees that 

12 would result in an office with two or fewer employees with13 out prior notification and approval of the Committees on 

14 Appropriations of both Houses of Congress. 

15 STATE MEDIATION GRANTS

16 For grants pursuant to section 502(b) of the Agricul17 tural Credit Act of 1987, as amended (7 U.S.C. 5101– 

18 5106), $3,904,000. 

19 GRASSROOTS SOURCE WATER PROTECTION PROGRAM

20 For necessary expenses to carry out wellhead or 

21 groundwater protection activities under section 1240O of 

22 the Food Security Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 3839bb–2), 

23 $6,500,000, to remain available until expended. 
25 

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1 DAIRY INDEMNITY PROGRAM

2 (INCLUDING TRANSFER OF FUNDS)

3 For necessary expenses involved in making indemnity 

4 payments to dairy farmers and manufacturers of dairy 

5 products under a dairy indemnity program, such sums as 

6 may be necessary, to remain available until expended: Pro7 vided, That such program is carried out by the Secretary 

8 in the same manner as the dairy indemnity program de9 scribed in the Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and 

10 Drug Administration, and Related Agencies Appropria11 tions Act, 2001 (Public Law 106–387, 114 Stat. 1549A– 

12 12). 

13 AGRICULTURAL CREDIT INSURANCE FUND PROGRAM

14 ACCOUNT

15 (INCLUDING TRANSFERS OF FUNDS)

16 For gross obligations for the principal amount of di17 rect and guaranteed farm ownership (7 U.S.C. 1922 et 

18 seq.) and operating (7 U.S.C. 1941 et seq.) loans, emer19 gency loans (7 U.S.C. 1961 et seq.), Indian tribe land ac20 quisition loans (25 U.S.C. 488), boll weevil loans (7 

21 U.S.C. 1989), guaranteed conservation loans (7 U.S.C. 

22 1924 et seq.), and Indian highly fractionated land loans 

23 (25 U.S.C. 488) to be available from funds in the Agricul24 tural Credit Insurance Fund, as follows: $2,750,000,000 

25 for guaranteed farm ownership loans and $1,500,000,000 
26 

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1 for farm ownership direct loans; $1,960,000,000 for un2 subsidized guaranteed operating loans and 

3 $1,530,000,000 for direct operating loans; emergency 

4 loans, $22,581,000; Indian tribe land acquisition loans, 

5 $20,000,000; guaranteed conservation loans, 

6 $150,000,000; Indian highly fractionated land loans, 

7 $10,000,000; and for boll weevil eradication program 

8 loans, $60,000,000: Provided, That the Secretary shall 

9 deem the pink bollworm to be a boll weevil for the purpose 

10 of boll weevil eradication program loans. 

11 For the cost of direct and guaranteed loans and 

12 grants, including the cost of modifying loans as defined 

13 in section 502 of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974, 

14 as follows: farm operating loans, $61,812,000 for direct 

15 operating loans, $21,756,000 for unsubsidized guaranteed 

16 operating loans, emergency loans, $1,111,000 and 

17 $2,272,000 for Indian highly fractionated land loans to 

18 remain available until expended. 

19 In addition, for administrative expenses necessary to 

20 carry out the direct and guaranteed loan programs, 

21 $317,068,000, of which $306,998,000 shall be transferred 

22 to and merged with the appropriation for ‘‘Farm Service 

23 Agency, Salaries and Expenses’’. 

24 Funds appropriated by this Act to the Agricultural 

25 Credit Insurance Program Account for farm ownership, 
27 

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1 operating and conservation direct loans and guaranteed 

2 loans may be transferred among these programs: Pro3 vided, That the Committees on Appropriations of both 

4 Houses of Congress are notified at least 15 days in ad5 vance of any transfer. 

6 RISK MANAGEMENT AGENCY

7 SALARIES AND EXPENSES

8 For necessary expenses of the Risk Management 

9 Agency, $74,829,000: Provided, That not to exceed 

10 $1,000 shall be available for official reception and rep11 resentation expenses, as authorized by 7 U.S.C. 1506(i). 

12 NATURAL RESOURCES CONSERVATION SERVICE

13 CONSERVATION OPERATIONS

14 For necessary expenses for carrying out the provi15 sions of the Act of April 27, 1935 (16 U.S.C. 590a–f), 

16 including preparation of conservation plans and establish17 ment of measures to conserve soil and water (including 

18 farm irrigation and land drainage and such special meas19 ures for soil and water management as may be necessary 

20 to prevent floods and the siltation of reservoirs and to con21 trol agricultural related pollutants); operation of conserva22 tion plant materials centers; classification and mapping of 

23 soil; dissemination of information; acquisition of lands, 

24 water, and interests therein for use in the plant materials 

25 program by donation, exchange, or purchase at a nominal 
28 

•S 1603 PCS

1 cost not to exceed $100 pursuant to the Act of August 

2 3, 1956 (7 U.S.C. 428a); purchase and erection or alter3 ation or improvement of permanent and temporary build4 ings; and operation and maintenance of aircraft, 

5 $874,107,000, to remain available until September 30, 

6 2019: Provided, That appropriations hereunder shall be 

7 available pursuant to 7 U.S.C. 2250 for construction and 

8 improvement of buildings and public improvements at 

9 plant materials centers, except that the cost of alterations 

10 and improvements to other buildings and other public im11 provements shall not exceed $250,000: Provided further, 

12 That when buildings or other structures are erected on 

13 non-Federal land, that the right to use such land is ob14 tained as provided in 7 U.S.C. 2250a: Provided further, 

15 That of the amounts made available under this heading, 

16 $5,600,000, shall remain available until expended for the 

17 authorities under 16 U.S.C. 1001–1005 and 1007–1009 

18 for authorized ongoing watershed projects with a primary 

19 purpose of providing water to rural communities. 

20 WATERSHED AND FLOOD PREVENTION OPERATIONS

21 For necessary expenses to carry out preventive meas22 ures, including but not limited to surveys and investiga23 tions, engineering operations, works of improvement, and 

24 changes in use of land, in accordance with the Watershed 

25 Protection and Flood Prevention Act (16 U.S.C. 1001– 
29 

•S 1603 PCS

1 1005 and 1007–1009) and in accordance with the provi2 sions of laws relating to the activities of the Department, 

3 $150,000,000, to remain available until expended: Pro4 vided, That of the amounts made available under this 

5 heading, $50,000,000 shall be allocated to projects and 

6 activities that can commence promptly following enact7 ment; that address regional priorities for flood prevention, 

8 agricultural water management, inefficient irrigation sys9 tems, fish and wildlife habitat, or watershed protection; 

10 or that address authorized ongoing projects under the au11 thorities of section 13 of the Flood Control Act of Decem12 ber 22, 1944 (Public Law 78–534) with a primary pur13 pose of watershed protection by preventing floodwater 

14 damage and stabilizing stream channels, tributaries, and 

15 banks to reduce erosion and sediment transport. 

16 CORPORATIONS 

17 The following corporations and agencies are hereby 

18 authorized to make expenditures, within the limits of 

19 funds and borrowing authority available to each such cor20 poration or agency and in accord with law, and to make 

21 contracts and commitments without regard to fiscal year 

22 limitations as provided by section 104 of the Government 

23 Corporation Control Act as may be necessary in carrying 

24 out the programs set forth in the budget for the current 
30 

•S 1603 PCS

1 fiscal year for such corporation or agency, except as here2 inafter provided. 

3 FEDERAL CROP INSURANCE CORPORATION FUND

4 For payments as authorized by section 516 of the 

5 Federal Crop Insurance Act (7 U.S.C. 1516), such sums 

6 as may be necessary, to remain available until expended. 

7 COMMODITY CREDIT CORPORATION FUND

8 REIMBURSEMENT FOR NET REALIZED LOSSES

9 (INCLUDING TRANSFERS OF FUNDS)

10 For the current fiscal year, such sums as may be nec11 essary to reimburse the Commodity Credit Corporation for 

12 net realized losses sustained, but not previously reim13 bursed, pursuant to section 2 of the Act of August 17, 

14 1961 (15 U.S.C. 713a–11): Provided, That of the funds 

15 available to the Commodity Credit Corporation under sec16 tion 11 of the Commodity Credit Corporation Charter Act 

17 (15 U.S.C. 714i) for the conduct of its business with the 

18 Foreign Agricultural Service, up to $5,000,000 may be 

19 transferred to and used by the Foreign Agricultural Serv20 ice for information resource management activities of the 

21 Foreign Agricultural Service that are not related to Com22 modity Credit Corporation business. 
31 

•S 1603 PCS

1 HAZARDOUS WASTE MANAGEMENT

2 (LIMITATION ON EXPENSES)

3 For the current fiscal year, the Commodity Credit 

4 Corporation shall not expend more than $5,000,000 for 

5 site investigation and cleanup expenses, and operations 

6 and maintenance expenses to comply with the requirement 

7 of section 107(g) of the Comprehensive Environmental 

8 Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (42 U.S.C. 

9 9607(g)), and section 6001 of the Resource Conservation 

10 and Recovery Act (42 U.S.C. 6961). 
32 

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1 TITLE III 

2 RURAL DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMS 

3 OFFICE OF THE UNDER SECRETARY FOR RURAL

4 DEVELOPMENT

5 For necessary expenses of the Office of the Under 

6 Secretary for Rural Development, $896,000: Provided, 

7 That funds made available by this Act to an agency in 

8 the Rural Development mission area for salaries and ex9 penses are available to fund up to one administrative sup10 port staff for the Office. 

11 RURAL DEVELOPMENT

12 SALARIES AND EXPENSES

13 (INCLUDING TRANSFERS OF FUNDS)

14 For necessary expenses for carrying out the adminis15 tration and implementation of programs in the Rural De16 velopment mission area, including activities with institu17 tions concerning the development and operation of agricul18 tural cooperatives; and for cooperative agreements; 

19 $225,835,000: Provided, That notwithstanding any other 

20 provision of law, funds appropriated under this heading 

21 may be used for advertising and promotional activities 

22 that support the Rural Development mission area: Pro23 vided further, That any balances available from prior years 

24 for the Rural Utilities Service, Rural Housing Service, and 

25 the Rural Business—Cooperative Service salaries and ex-
33 

•S 1603 PCS

1 penses accounts shall be transferred to and merged with 

2 this appropriation. 

3 RURAL HOUSING SERVICE

4 RURAL HOUSING INSURANCE FUND PROGRAM ACCOUNT

5 (INCLUDING TRANSFERS OF FUNDS)

6 For gross obligations for the principal amount of di7 rect and guaranteed loans as authorized by title V of the 

8 Housing Act of 1949, to be available from funds in the 

9 rural housing insurance fund, as follows: $1,000,000,000 

10 shall be for direct loans and $24,000,000,000 shall be for 

11 unsubsidized guaranteed loans; $26,278,000 for section 

12 504 housing repair loans; $35,000,000 for section 515 

13 rental housing; $230,000,000 for section 538 guaranteed 

14 multi-family housing loans; $10,000,000 for credit sales 

15 of single family housing acquired property; $5,000,000 for 

16 section 523 self-help housing land development loans; and 

17 $5,000,000 for section 524 site development loans. 

18 For the cost of direct and guaranteed loans, including 

19 the cost of modifying loans, as defined in section 502 of 

20 the Congressional Budget Act of 1974, as follows: section 

21 502 loans, $38,500,000 shall be for direct loans; section 

22 504 housing repair loans, $3,240,000; repair, rehabilita23 tion, and new construction of section 515 rental housing, 

24 $9,209,000; section 523 self-help land development loans, 

25 $368,000; section 524 site development loans, $58,000: 
34 

•S 1603 PCS

1 Provided, That to support the loan program level for sec2 tion 538 guaranteed loans made available under this head3 ing the Secretary may charge or adjust any fees to cover 

4 the projected cost of such loan guarantees pursuant to the 

5 provisions of the Credit Reform Act of 1990 (2 U.S.C. 

6 661 et seq.), and the interest on such loans may not be 

7 subsidized: Provided further, That applicants in commu8 nities that have a current rural area waiver under section 

9 541 of the Housing Act of 1949 (42 U.S.C. 1490q) shall 

10 be treated as living in a rural area for purposes of section 

11 502 guaranteed loans provided under this heading: Pro12 vided further, That of the amounts available under this 

13 paragraph for section 502 direct loans, no less than 

14 $5,000,000 shall be available for direct loans for individ15 uals whose homes will be built pursuant to a program 

16 funded with a mutual and self-help housing grant author17 ized by section 523 of the Housing Act of 1949 until June 

18 1, 2018: Provided further, That the Secretary shall imple19 ment provisions to provide incentives to nonprofit organi20 zations and public housing authorities to facilitate the ac21 quisition of Rural Housing Service (RHS) multifamily 

22 housing properties by such nonprofit organizations and 

23 public housing authorities that commit to keep such prop24 erties in the RHS multifamily housing program for a pe25 riod of time as determined by the Secretary. Incentives 
35 

•S 1603 PCS

1 provided will include, but not be limited to, the following: 

2 allow such nonprofit entities and public housing authori3 ties to earn a Return on Investment (ROI) on their own 

4 resources to include proceeds from low income housing tax 

5 credit syndication, own contributions, grants, and devel6 oper loans at favorable rates and terms, invested in a deal; 

7 and allow reimbursement of organizational costs associ8 ated with owner’s oversight of asset referred to as ‘‘Asset 

9 Management Fee’’ (AMF) of up to $7,500 per property. 

10 In addition, for the cost of direct loans, grants, and 

11 contracts, as authorized by 42 U.S.C. 1484 and 1486, 

12 $14,710,000, to remain available until expended, for direct 

13 farm labor housing loans and domestic farm labor housing 

14 grants and contracts: Provided, That any balances avail15 able for the Farm Labor Program Account shall be trans16 ferred to and merged with this account. 

17 In addition, for administrative expenses necessary to 

18 carry out the direct and guaranteed loan programs, 

19 $412,254,000 shall be transferred to and merged with the 

20 appropriation for ‘‘Rural Development, Salaries and Ex21 penses’’. 

22 RENTAL ASSISTANCE PROGRAM

23 For rental assistance agreements entered into or re24 newed pursuant to the authority under section 521(a)(2) 

25 or agreements entered into in lieu of debt forgiveness or 
36 

•S 1603 PCS

1 payments for eligible households as authorized by section 

2 502(c)(5)(D) of the Housing Act of 1949, 

3 $1,345,293,000, of which $40,000,000 shall be available 

4 until September 30, 2019; and in addition such sums as 

5 may be necessary, as authorized by section 521(c) of the 

6 Act, to liquidate debt incurred prior to fiscal year 1992 

7 to carry out the rental assistance program under section 

8 521(a)(2) of the Act: Provided, That rental assistance 

9 agreements entered into or renewed during the current fis10 cal year shall be funded for a one-year period: Provided 

11 further, That any unexpended balances remaining at the 

12 end of such one-year agreements may be transferred and 

13 used for purposes of any debt reduction; maintenance, re14 pair, or rehabilitation of any existing projects; preserva15 tion; and rental assistance activities authorized under title 

16 V of the Act: Provided further, That rental assistance pro17 vided under agreements entered into prior to fiscal year 

18 2018 for a farm labor multi-family housing project fi19 nanced under section 514 or 516 of the Act may not be 

20 recaptured for use in another project until such assistance 

21 has remained unused for a period of 12 consecutive 

22 months, if such project has a waiting list of tenants seek23 ing such assistance or the project has rental assistance 

24 eligible tenants who are not receiving such assistance: Pro25 vided further, That such recaptured rental assistance shall, 
37 

•S 1603 PCS

1 to the extent practicable, be applied to another farm labor 

2 multi-family housing project financed under section 514 

3 or 516 of the Act: Provided further, That the Secretary 

4 shall provide to the Committees on Appropriations of both 

5 Houses of Congress quarterly reports on the number of 

6 renewals approved, on the amount of rental assistance 

7 available, and the anticipated need for rental assistance 

8 for the remainder of the fiscal year: Provided further, That 

9 except as provided in the third proviso under this heading 

10 and notwithstanding any other provision of the Act, the 

11 Secretary may recapture rental assistance provided under 

12 agreements entered into prior to fiscal year 2018 for a 

13 project that the Secretary determines no longer needs 

14 rental assistance and use such recaptured funds for cur15 rent needs. 

16 MULTI-FAMILY HOUSING REVITALIZATION PROGRAM

17 ACCOUNT

18 For the rural housing voucher program as authorized 

19 under section 542 of the Housing Act of 1949, but not20 withstanding subsection (b) of such section, and for addi21 tional costs to conduct a demonstration program for the 

22 preservation and revitalization of multi-family rental hous23 ing properties described in this paragraph, $41,400,000, 

24 to remain available until expended: Provided, That of the 

25 funds made available under this heading, $19,400,000, 
38 

•S 1603 PCS

1 shall be available for rural housing vouchers to any low2 income household (including those not receiving rental as3 sistance) residing in a property financed with a section 

4 515 loan which has been prepaid after September 30, 

5 2005: Provided further, That the amount of such voucher 

6 shall be the difference between comparable market rent 

7 for the section 515 unit and the tenant paid rent for such 

8 unit: Provided further, That funds made available for such 

9 vouchers shall be subject to the availability of annual ap10 propriations: Provided further, That the Secretary shall, 

11 to the maximum extent practicable, administer such 

12 vouchers with current regulations and administrative guid13 ance applicable to section 8 housing vouchers administered 

14 by the Secretary of the Department of Housing and Urban 

15 Development: Provided further, That if the Secretary de16 termines that the amount made available for vouchers in 

17 this or any other Act is not needed for vouchers, the Sec18 retary may use such funds for the demonstration program 

19 for the preservation and revitalization of multi-family 

20 rental housing properties described in this paragraph: Pro21 vided further, That of the funds made available under this 

22 heading, $22,000,000 shall be available for a demonstra23 tion program for the preservation and revitalization of the 

24 sections 514, 515, and 516 multi-family rental housing 

25 properties to restructure existing USDA multi-family 
39 

•S 1603 PCS

1 housing loans, as the Secretary deems appropriate, ex2 pressly for the purposes of ensuring the project has suffi3 cient resources to preserve the project for the purpose of 

4 providing safe and affordable housing for low-income resi5 dents and farm laborers including reducing or eliminating 

6 interest; deferring loan payments, subordinating, reducing 

7 or reamortizing loan debt; and other financial assistance 

8 including advances, payments and incentives (including 

9 the ability of owners to obtain reasonable returns on in10 vestment) required by the Secretary: Provided further, 

11 That the Secretary shall as part of the preservation and 

12 revitalization agreement obtain a restrictive use agreement 

13 consistent with the terms of the restructuring: Provided 

14 further, That if the Secretary determines that additional 

15 funds for vouchers described in this paragraph are needed, 

16 funds for the preservation and revitalization demonstra17 tion program may be used for such vouchers: Provided fur18 ther, That if Congress enacts legislation to permanently 

19 authorize a multi-family rental housing loan restructuring 

20 program similar to the demonstration program described 

21 herein, the Secretary may use funds made available for 

22 the demonstration program under this heading to carry 

23 out such legislation with the prior approval of the Commit24 tees on Appropriations of both Houses of Congress: Pro25 vided further, That in addition to any other available 
40 

•S 1603 PCS

1 funds, the Secretary may expend not more than 

2 $1,000,000 total, from the program funds made available 

3 under this heading, for administrative expenses for activi4 ties funded under this heading. 

5 MUTUAL AND SELF-HELP HOUSING GRANTS

6 For grants and contracts pursuant to section 

7 523(b)(1)(A) of the Housing Act of 1949 (42 U.S.C. 

8 1490c), $30,000,000, to remain available until expended. 

9 RURAL HOUSING ASSISTANCE GRANTS

10 For grants for very low-income housing repair and 

11 rural housing preservation made by the Rural Housing 

12 Service, as authorized by 42 U.S.C. 1474, and 1490m, 

13 $33,701,000, to remain available until expended. 

14 RURAL COMMUNITY FACILITIES PROGRAM ACCOUNT

15 (INCLUDING TRANSFERS OF FUNDS)

16 For gross obligations for the principal amount of di17 rect and guaranteed loans as authorized by section 306 

18 and described in section 381E(d)(1) of the Consolidated 

19 Farm and Rural Development Act, $3,000,000,000 for di20 rect loans and $148,305,000 for guaranteed loans. 

21 For the cost of guaranteed loans, including the cost 

22 of modifying loans, as defined in section 502 of the Con23 gressional Budget Act of 1974, $4,850,000, to remain 

24 available until expended. 
41 

•S 1603 PCS

1 For the cost of grants for rural community facilities 

2 programs as authorized by section 306 and described in 

3 section 381E(d)(1) of the Consolidated Farm and Rural 

4 Development Act, $43,778,000, to remain available until 

5 expended: Provided, That $4,000,000 of the amount ap6 propriated under this heading shall be available for a 

7 Rural Community Development Initiative: Provided fur8 ther, That such funds shall be used solely to develop the 

9 capacity and ability of private, nonprofit community-based 

10 housing and community development organizations, low11 income rural communities, and Federally Recognized Na12 tive American Tribes to undertake projects to improve 

13 housing, community facilities, community and economic 

14 development projects in rural areas: Provided further, 

15 That such funds shall be made available to qualified pri16 vate, nonprofit and public intermediary organizations pro17 posing to carry out a program of financial and technical 

18 assistance: Provided further, That such intermediary orga19 nizations shall provide matching funds from other sources, 

20 including Federal funds for related activities, in an 

21 amount not less than funds provided: Provided further, 

22 That $5,778,000 of the amount appropriated under this 

23 heading shall be to provide grants for facilities in rural 

24 communities with extreme unemployment and severe eco25 nomic depression (Public Law 106–387), with up to 5 per-
42 

•S 1603 PCS

1 cent for administration and capacity building in the State 

2 rural development offices: Provided further, That 

3 $4,000,000 of the amount appropriated under this head4 ing shall be available for community facilities grants to 

5 tribal colleges, as authorized by section 306(a)(19) of such 

6 Act: Provided further, That sections 381E–H and 381N 

7 of the Consolidated Farm and Rural Development Act are 

8 not applicable to the funds made available under this 

9 heading: Provided further, That for the purposes of deter10 mining eligibility or level of program assistance the Sec11 retary shall not include incarcerated prison populations. 

12 RURAL BUSINESS—COOPERATIVE SERVICE

13 RURAL BUSINESS PROGRAM ACCOUNT

14 (INCLUDING TRANSFERS OF FUNDS)

15 For the cost of loan guarantees and grants, for the 

16 rural business development programs authorized by sec17 tion 310B and described in subsections (a), (c), (f) and 

18 (g) of section 310B of the Consolidated Farm and Rural 

19 Development Act, $64,342,000, to remain available until 

20 expended: Provided, That of the amount appropriated 

21 under this heading, not to exceed $500,000 shall be made 

22 available for one grant to a qualified national organization 

23 to provide technical assistance for rural transportation in 

24 order to promote economic development and $3,000,000 

25 shall be for grants to the Delta Regional Authority (7 
43 

•S 1603 PCS

1 U.S.C. 2009aa et seq.) for any Rural Community Ad2 vancement Program purpose as described in section 

3 381E(d) of the Consolidated Farm and Rural Develop4 ment Act, of which not more than 5 percent may be used 

5 for administrative expenses: Provided further, That 

6 $4,000,000 of the amount appropriated under this head7 ing shall be for business grants to benefit Federally Recog8 nized Native American Tribes, including $250,000 for a 

9 grant to a qualified national organization to provide tech10 nical assistance for rural transportation in order to pro11 mote economic development: Provided further, That for 

12 purposes of determining eligibility or level of program as13 sistance the Secretary shall not include incarcerated pris14 on populations: Provided further, That sections 381E–H 

15 and 381N of the Consolidated Farm and Rural Develop16 ment Act are not applicable to funds made available under 

17 this heading. 

18 INTERMEDIARY RELENDING PROGRAM FUND ACCOUNT

19 (INCLUDING TRANSFER OF FUNDS)

20 For the principal amount of direct loans, as author21 ized by the Intermediary Relending Program Fund Ac22 count (7 U.S.C. 1936b), $18,889,000. 

23 For the cost of direct loans, $4,361,000, as author24 ized by the Intermediary Relending Program Fund Ac25 count (7 U.S.C. 1936b), of which $557,000 shall be avail-
44 

•S 1603 PCS

1 able through June 30, 2018, for Federally Recognized Na2 tive American Tribes; and of which $1,072,000 shall be 

3 available through June 30, 2018, for Mississippi Delta Re4 gion counties (as determined in accordance with Public 

5 Law 100–460): Provided, That such costs, including the 

6 cost of modifying such loans, shall be as defined in section 

7 502 of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974. 

8 In addition, for administrative expenses to carry out 

9 the direct loan programs, $4,468,000 shall be transferred 

10 to and merged with the appropriation for ‘‘Rural Develop11 ment, Salaries and Expenses’’. 

12 RURAL ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT LOANS PROGRAM

13 ACCOUNT

14 (INCLUDING RESCISSION OF FUNDS)

15 For the principal amount of direct loans, as author16 ized under section 313 of the Rural Electrification Act, 

17 for the purpose of promoting rural economic development 

18 and job creation projects, $42,213,000. 

19 Of the funds derived from interest on the cushion of 

20 credit payments, as authorized by section 313 of the Rural 

21 Electrification Act of 1936, $196,000,000 shall not be ob22 ligated and $196,000,000 are rescinded. 

23 The cost of grants authorized under section 313 of 

24 the Rural Electrification Act, for the purpose of promoting 
45 

•S 1603 PCS

1 rural economic development and job creation projects shall 

2 not exceed $10,000,000. 

3 RURAL COOPERATIVE DEVELOPMENT GRANTS

4 For rural cooperative development grants authorized 

5 under section 310B(e) of the Consolidated Farm and 

6 Rural Development Act (7 U.S.C. 1932), $26,550,000, of 

7 which $2,750,000 shall be for cooperative agreements for 

8 the appropriate technology transfer for rural areas pro9 gram: Provided, That not to exceed $3,000,000 shall be 

10 for grants for cooperative development centers, individual 

11 cooperatives, or groups of cooperatives that serve socially 

12 disadvantaged groups and a majority of the boards of di13 rectors or governing boards of which are comprised of in14 dividuals who are members of socially disadvantaged 

15 groups; and of which $15,000,000, to remain available 

16 until expended, shall be for value-added agricultural prod17 uct market development grants, as authorized by section 

18 231 of the Agricultural Risk Protection Act of 2000 (7 

19 U.S.C. 1632a), of which $1,000,000 shall be for Agri20 culture Innovation Centers authorized pursuant to section 

21 6402 of Public Law 107–171. 

22 For the cost of a program of loan guarantees, under 

23 the same terms and conditions as authorized by section 

24 9007 of the Farm Security and Rural Investment Act of 

25 2002 (7 U.S.C. 8107), $293,000: Provided, That the cost 
46 

•S 1603 PCS

1 of loan guarantees, including the cost of modifying such 

2 loans, shall be as defined in section 502 of the Congres3 sional Budget Act of 1974. 

4 RURAL UTILITIES SERVICE

5 RURAL WATER AND WASTE DISPOSAL PROGRAM ACCOUNT

6 (INCLUDING TRANSFERS OF FUNDS)

7 For the cost of direct loans, loan guarantees, and 

8 grants for the rural water, waste water, waste disposal, 

9 and solid waste management programs authorized by sec10 tions 306, 306A, 306C, 306D, 306E, and 310B and de11 scribed in sections 306C(a)(2), 306D, 306E, and 

12 381E(d)(2) of the Consolidated Farm and Rural Develop13 ment Act, $550,383,000, to remain available until ex14 pended, of which not to exceed $1,000,000 shall be avail15 able for the rural utilities program described in section 

16 306(a)(2)(B) of such Act, and of which not to exceed 

17 $993,000 shall be available for the rural utilities program 

18 described in section 306E of such Act: Provided, That not 

19 to exceed $10,000,000 of the amount appropriated under 

20 this heading shall be for grants authorized by section 

21 306A(i)(2) of the Consolidated Farm and Rural Develop22 ment Act in addition to funding authorized by section 

23 306A(i)(1) of such Act: Provided further, That 

24 $66,500,000 of the amount appropriated under this head25 ing shall be for loans and grants including water and 
47 

•S 1603 PCS

1 waste disposal systems grants authorized by section 

2 306C(a)(2)(B) and section 306D of the Consolidated 

3 Farm and Rural Development Act, and Federally Recog4 nized Native American Tribes authorized by 306C(a)(1) 

5 of such Act: Provided further, That funding provided for 

6 section 306D of the Consolidated Farm and Rural Devel7 opment Act may be provided to a consortium formed pur8 suant to section 325 of Public Law 105–83: Provided fur9 ther, That not more than 2 percent of the funding pro10 vided for section 306D of the Consolidated Farm and 

11 Rural Development Act may be used by the State of Alas12 ka for training and technical assistance programs and not 

13 more than 2 percent of the funding provided for section 

14 306D of the Consolidated Farm and Rural Development 

15 Act may be used by a consortium formed pursuant to sec16 tion 325 of Public Law 105–83 for training and technical 

17 assistance programs: Provided further, That not to exceed 

18 $20,000,000 of the amount appropriated under this head19 ing shall be for technical assistance grants for rural water 

20 and waste systems pursuant to section 306(a)(14) of such 

21 Act, unless the Secretary makes a determination of ex22 treme need, of which $6,500,000 shall be made available 

23 for a grant to a qualified nonprofit multi-State regional 

24 technical assistance organization, with experience in work25 ing with small communities on water and waste water 
48 

•S 1603 PCS

1 problems, the principal purpose of such grant shall be to 

2 assist rural communities with populations of 3,300 or less, 

3 in improving the planning, financing, development, oper4 ation, and management of water and waste water systems, 

5 and of which not less than $800,000 shall be for a quali6 fied national Native American organization to provide 

7 technical assistance for rural water systems for tribal com8 munities: Provided further, That not to exceed 

9 $18,000,000 of the amount appropriated under this head10 ing shall be for contracting with qualified national organi11 zations for a circuit rider program to provide technical as12 sistance for rural water systems: Provided further, That 

13 not to exceed $4,000,000 shall be for solid waste manage14 ment grants: Provided further, That $10,000,000 of the 

15 amount appropriated under this heading shall be trans16 ferred to, and merged with, the Rural Utilities Service, 

17 High Energy Cost Grants Account to provide grants au18 thorized under section 19 of the Rural Electrification Act 

19 of 1936 (7 U.S.C. 918a): Provided further, That any prior 

20 year balances for high-energy cost grants authorized by 

21 section 19 of the Rural Electrification Act of 1936 (7 

22 U.S.C. 918a) shall be transferred to and merged with the 

23 Rural Utilities Service, High Energy Cost Grants Ac24 count: Provided further, That sections 381E–H and 381N 

25 of the Consolidated Farm and Rural Development Act are 
49 

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1 not applicable to the funds made available under this 

2 heading. 

3 RURAL ELECTRIFICATION AND TELECOMMUNICATIONS

4 LOANS PROGRAM ACCOUNT

5 (INCLUDING TRANSFER OF FUNDS)

6 The principal amount of direct and guaranteed loans 

7 as authorized by sections 305, 306, and 317 of the Rural 

8 Electrification Act of 1936 (7 U.S.C. 935, 936, and 940g) 

9 shall be made as follows: loans made pursuant to sections 

10 305, 306, and 317, notwithstanding 317(c), of that Act, 

11 rural electric, $5,500,000,000; guaranteed underwriting 

12 loans pursuant to section 313A, $750,000,000; 5 percent 

13 rural telecommunications loans, cost of money rural tele14 communications loans, and for loans made pursuant to 

15 section 306 of that Act, rural telecommunications loans, 

16 $690,000,000: Provided, That up to $2,000,000,000 shall 

17 be used for the construction, acquisition, or improvement 

18 of fossil-fueled electric generating plants (whether new or 

19 existing) that utilize carbon sequestration systems. 

20 For the cost of direct loans as authorized by section 

21 305 of the Rural Electrification Act of 1936 (7 U.S.C. 

22 935), including the cost of modifying loans, as defined in 

23 section 502 of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974, cost 

24 of money rural telecommunications loans, $863,000. 
50 

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1 In addition, for administrative expenses necessary to 

2 carry out the direct and guaranteed loan programs, 

3 $33,270,000, which shall be transferred to and merged 

4 with the appropriation for ‘‘Rural Development, Salaries 

5 and Expenses’’. 

6 DISTANCE LEARNING, TELEMEDICINE, AND BROADBAND

7 PROGRAM

8 For the principal amount of broadband telecommuni9 cation loans, $27,043,000. 

10 For grants for telemedicine and distance learning 

11 services in rural areas, as authorized by 7 U.S.C. 950aaa 

12 et seq., $26,600,000, to remain available until expended: 

13 Provided, That $3,000,000 shall be made available for 

14 grants authorized by 379G of the Consolidated Farm and 

15 Rural Development Act: Provided further, That funding 

16 provided under this heading for grants under 379G of the 

17 Consolidated Farm and Rural Development Act may only 

18 be provided to entities that meet all of the eligibility cri19 teria for a consortium as established by this section. 

20 For the cost of broadband loans, as authorized by 

21 section 601 of the Rural Electrification Act, $4,530,000, 

22 to remain available until expended: Provided, That the 

23 cost of direct loans shall be as defined in section 502 of 

24 the Congressional Budget Act of 1974. 
51 

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1 In addition, $30,000,000, to remain available until 

2 expended, for a grant program to finance broadband 

3 transmission in rural areas eligible for Distance Learning 

4 and Telemedicine Program benefits authorized by 7 

5 U.S.C. 950aaa. 
52 

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1 TITLE IV 

2 DOMESTIC FOOD PROGRAMS 

3 OFFICE OF THE UNDER SECRETARY FOR FOOD, 

4 NUTRITION, AND CONSUMER SERVICES

5 For necessary expenses of the Office of the Under 

6 Secretary for Food, Nutrition, and Consumer Services, 

7 $814,000: Provided, That funds made available by this 

8 Act to an agency in the Food, Nutrition and Consumer 

9 Services mission area for salaries and expenses are avail10 able to fund up to one administrative support staff for 

11 the Office. 

12 FOOD AND NUTRITION SERVICE

13 CHILD NUTRITION PROGRAMS

14 (INCLUDING TRANSFERS OF FUNDS)

15 For necessary expenses to carry out the Richard B. 

16 Russell National School Lunch Act (42 U.S.C. 1751 et 

17 seq.), except section 21, and the Child Nutrition Act of 

18 1966 (42 U.S.C. 1771 et seq.), except sections 17 and 

19 21; $24,296,505,000 to remain available through Sep20 tember 30, 2019, of which such sums as are made avail21 able under section 14222(b)(1) of the Food, Conservation, 

22 and Energy Act of 2008 (Public Law 110–246), as 

23 amended by this Act, shall be merged with and available 

24 for the same time period and purposes as provided herein: 

25 Provided, That of the total amount available, $17,004,000 
53 

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1 shall be available to carry out section 19 of the Child Nu2 trition Act of 1966 (42 U.S.C. 1771 et seq.): Provided 

3 further, That of the total amount available, $30,000,000 

4 shall be available to provide competitive grants to State 

5 agencies for subgrants to local educational agencies and 

6 schools to purchase the equipment needed to serve 

7 healthier meals, improve food safety, and to help support 

8 the establishment, maintenance, or expansion of the school 

9 breakfast program: Provided further, That of the total 

10 amount available, $23,000,000 shall remain available until 

11 expended to carry out section 749(g) of the Agriculture 

12 Appropriations Act of 2010 (Public Law 111–80): Pro13 vided further, That section 26(d) of the Richard B. Russell 

14 National School Lunch Act (42 U.S.C. 1769g(d)) is 

15 amended in the first sentence by striking ‘‘2010 through 

16 2017’’ and inserting ‘‘2010 through 2018’’: Provided fur17 ther, That section 9(h)(3) of the Richard B. Russell Na18 tional School Lunch Act (42 U.S.C. 1758(h)(3)) is amend19 ed in the first sentence by striking ‘‘For fiscal year 2017’’ 

20 and inserting ‘‘For fiscal year 2018’’: Provided further, 

21 That section 9(h)(4) of the Richard B. Russell National 

22 School Lunch Act (42 U.S.C. 1758(h)(4)) is amended in 

23 the first sentence by striking ‘‘For fiscal year 2017’’ and 

24 inserting ‘‘For fiscal year 2018’’. 
54 

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1 SPECIAL SUPPLEMENTAL NUTRITION PROGRAM FOR

2 WOMEN, INFANTS, AND CHILDREN (WIC)

3 For necessary expenses to carry out the special sup4 plemental nutrition program as authorized by section 17 

5 of the Child Nutrition Act of 1966 (42 U.S.C. 1786), 

6 $6,350,000,000, to remain available through September 

7 30, 2019: Provided, That notwithstanding section 

8 17(h)(10) of the Child Nutrition Act of 1966 (42 U.S.C. 

9 1786(h)(10)), not less than $80,000,000 shall be used for 

10 breastfeeding peer counselors and other related activities, 

11 and $14,000,000 shall be used for infrastructure: Pro12 vided further, That none of the funds provided in this ac13 count shall be available for the purchase of infant formula 

14 except in accordance with the cost containment and com15 petitive bidding requirements specified in section 17 of 

16 such Act: Provided further, That none of the funds pro17 vided shall be available for activities that are not fully re18 imbursed by other Federal Government departments or 

19 agencies unless authorized by section 17 of such Act: Pro20 vided further, That upon termination of a federally man21 dated vendor moratorium and subject to terms and condi22 tions established by the Secretary, the Secretary may 

23 waive the requirement at 7 CFR 246.12(g)(6) at the re24 quest of a State agency. 
55 

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1 SUPPLEMENTAL NUTRITION ASSISTANCE PROGRAM

2 For necessary expenses to carry out the Food and 

3 Nutrition Act of 2008 (7 U.S.C. 2011 et seq.), 

4 $73,612,502,000, of which $3,000,000,000, to remain 

5 available through December 31, 2019, shall be placed in 

6 reserve for use only in such amounts and at such times 

7 as may become necessary to carry out program operations: 

8 Provided, That funds provided herein shall be expended 

9 in accordance with section 16 of the Food and Nutrition 

10 Act of 2008: Provided further, That of the funds made 

11 available under this heading, $998,000 may be used to 

12 provide nutrition education services to State agencies and 

13 Federally Recognized Tribes participating in the Food 

14 Distribution Program on Indian Reservations: Provided 

15 further, That this appropriation shall be subject to any 

16 work registration or workfare requirements as may be re17 quired by law: Provided further, That funds made available 

18 for Employment and Training under this heading shall re19 main available through September 30, 2019: Provided fur20 ther, That funds made available under this heading for 

21 section 28(d)(1), section 4(b), and section 27(a) of the 

22 Food and Nutrition Act of 2008 shall remain available 

23 through September 30, 2019: Provided further, That 

24 funds made available under this heading may be used to 

25 enter into contracts and employ staff to conduct studies, 
56 

•S 1603 PCS

1 evaluations, or to conduct activities related to program in2 tegrity provided that such activities are authorized by the 

3 Food and Nutrition Act of 2008. 

4 COMMODITY ASSISTANCE PROGRAM

5 For necessary expenses to carry out disaster assist6 ance and the Commodity Supplemental Food Program as 

7 authorized by section 4(a) of the Agriculture and Con8 sumer Protection Act of 1973 (7 U.S.C. 612c note); the 

9 Emergency Food Assistance Act of 1983; special assist10 ance for the nuclear affected islands, as authorized by sec11 tion 103(f)(2) of the Compact of Free Association Amend12 ments Act of 2003 (Public Law 108–188); and the Farm13 ers’ Market Nutrition Program, as authorized by section 

14 17(m) of the Child Nutrition Act of 1966, $317,139,000, 

15 to remain available through September 30, 2019: Pro16 vided, That none of these funds shall be available to reim17 burse the Commodity Credit Corporation for commodities 

18 donated to the program: Provided further, That notwith19 standing any other provision of law, effective with funds 

20 made available in fiscal year 2018 to support the Seniors 

21 Farmers’ Market Nutrition Program, as authorized by 

22 section 4402 of the Farm Security and Rural Investment 

23 Act of 2002, such funds shall remain available through 

24 September 30, 2019: Provided further, That of the funds 

25 made available under section 27(a) of the Food and Nutri-
57 

•S 1603 PCS

1 tion Act of 2008 (7 U.S.C. 2036(a)), the Secretary may 

2 use up to 10 percent for costs associated with the distribu3 tion of commodities. 

4 NUTRITION PROGRAMS ADMINISTRATION

5 For necessary administrative expenses of the Food 

6 and Nutrition Service for carrying out any domestic nutri7 tion assistance program, $153,841,000: Provided, That of 

8 the funds provided herein, $2,000,000 shall be used for 

9 the purposes of section 4404 of Public Law 107–171, as 

10 amended by section 4401 of Public Law 110–246. 
58 

•S 1603 PCS

1 TITLE V 

2 FOREIGN ASSISTANCE AND RELATED 

3 PROGRAMS 

4 OFFICE OF THE UNDER SECRETARY FOR TRADE AND

5 FOREIGN AGRICULTURAL AFFAIRS

6 For necessary expenses of the Office of the Under 

7 Secretary for Trade and Foreign Agricultural Affairs, 

8 $875,000: Provided, That funds made available by this 

9 Act to any agency in the Trade and Foreign Agricultural 

10 Affairs mission area for salaries and expenses are avail11 able to fund up to one administrative support staff for 

12 the Office. 

13 FOREIGN AGRICULTURAL SERVICE

14 SALARIES AND EXPENSES

15 (INCLUDING TRANSFERS OF FUNDS)

16 For necessary expenses of the Foreign Agricultural 

17 Service, including not to exceed $250,000 for representa18 tion allowances and for expenses pursuant to section 8 of 

19 the Act approved August 3, 1956 (7 U.S.C. 1766), 

20 $197,506,000, of which no more than 6 percent shall re21 main available until September 30, 2019, for overseas op22 erations to include the payment of locally employed staff: 

23 Provided, That the Service may utilize advances of funds, 

24 or reimburse this appropriation for expenditures made on 

25 behalf of Federal agencies, public and private organiza-
59 

•S 1603 PCS

1 tions and institutions under agreements executed pursu2 ant to the agricultural food production assistance pro3 grams (7 U.S.C. 1737) and the foreign assistance pro4 grams of the United States Agency for International De5 velopment: Provided further, That funds made available 

6 for middle-income country training programs, funds made 

7 available for the Borlaug International Agricultural 

8 Science and Technology Fellowship program, and up to 

9 $2,000,000 of the Foreign Agricultural Service appropria10 tion solely for the purpose of offsetting fluctuations in 

11 international currency exchange rates, subject to docu12 mentation by the Foreign Agricultural Service, shall re13 main available until expended. 

14 FOOD FOR PEACE TITLE I DIRECT CREDIT AND FOOD

15 FOR PROGRESS PROGRAM ACCOUNT

16 (INCLUDING TRANSFER OF FUNDS)

17 For administrative expenses to carry out the credit 

18 program of title I, Food for Peace Act (Public Law 83– 

19 480) and the Food for Progress Act of 1985, $149,000, 

20 shall be transferred to and merged with the appropriation 

21 for ‘‘Farm Service Agency, Salaries and Expenses’’. 

22 FOOD FOR PEACE TITLE II GRANTS

23 For expenses during the current fiscal year, not oth24 erwise recoverable, and unrecovered prior years’ costs, in25 cluding interest thereon, under the Food for Peace Act 
60 

•S 1603 PCS

1 (Public Law 83–480), for commodities supplied in connec2 tion with dispositions abroad under title II of said Act, 

3 $1,600,000,000, to remain available until expended. 

4 MCGOVERN-DOLE INTERNATIONAL FOOD FOR EDUCATION

5 AND CHILD NUTRITION PROGRAM GRANTS

6 For necessary expenses to carry out the provisions 

7 of section 3107 of the Farm Security and Rural Invest8 ment Act of 2002 (7 U.S.C. 1736o–1), $206,626,000, to 

9 remain available until expended: Provided, That the Com10 modity Credit Corporation is authorized to provide the 

11 services, facilities, and authorities for the purpose of im12 plementing such section, subject to reimbursement from 

13 amounts provided herein: Provided further, That of the 

14 amount made available under this heading, $15,000,000, 

15 shall remain available until expended for necessary ex16 penses to carry out the provisions of section 3207 of the 

17 Agricultural Act of 2014 (7 U.S.C. 1726c). 

18 COMMODITY CREDIT CORPORATION EXPORT (LOANS)

19 CREDIT GUARANTEE PROGRAM ACCOUNT

20 (INCLUDING TRANSFERS OF FUNDS)

21 For administrative expenses to carry out the Com22 modity Credit Corporation’s Export Guarantee Program, 

23 GSM 102 and GSM 103, $8,537,000; to cover common 

24 overhead expenses as permitted by section 11 of the Com25 modity Credit Corporation Charter Act and in conformity 
61 

•S 1603 PCS

1 with the Federal Credit Reform Act of 1990, of which 

2 $6,074,000 shall be transferred to and merged with the 

3 appropriation for ‘‘Foreign Agricultural Service, Salaries 

4 and Expenses’’, and of which $2,463,000 shall be trans5 ferred to and merged with the appropriation for ‘‘Farm 

6 Service Agency, Salaries and Expenses’’. 
62 

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1 TITLE VI 

2 RELATED AGENCIES AND FOOD AND DRUG 

3 ADMINISTRATION 

4 DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

5 FOOD AND DRUG ADMINISTRATION

6 SALARIES AND EXPENSES

7 For necessary expenses of the Food and Drug Ad8 ministration, including hire and purchase of passenger 

9 motor vehicles; for payment of space rental and related 

10 costs pursuant to Public Law 92–313 for programs and 

11 activities of the Food and Drug Administration which are 

12 included in this Act; for rental of special purpose space 

13 in the District of Columbia or elsewhere; for miscellaneous 

14 and emergency expenses of enforcement activities, author15 ized and approved by the Secretary and to be accounted 

16 for solely on the Secretary’s certificate, not to exceed 

17 $25,000; and notwithstanding section 521 of Public Law 

18 107–188; $5,146,945,000: Provided, That of the amount 

19 provided under this heading, $937,434,000 shall be de20 rived from prescription drug user fees authorized by 21 

21 U.S.C. 379h, and shall be credited to this account and 

22 remain available until expended; $193,291,000 shall be de23 rived from medical device user fees authorized by 21 

24 U.S.C. 379j, and shall be credited to this account and re25 main available until expended; $493,600,000 shall be de-
63 

•S 1603 PCS

1 rived from human generic drug user fees authorized by 

2 21 U.S.C. 379j–42, and shall be credited to this account 

3 and remain available until expended; $54,000,000 shall be 

4 derived from biosimilar biological product user fees au5 thorized by 21 U.S.C. 379j–52, and shall be credited to 

6 this account and remain available until expended; 

7 $24,142,000 shall be derived from animal drug user fees 

8 authorized by 21 U.S.C. 379j–12, and shall be credited 

9 to this account and remain available until expended; 

10 $12,100,000 shall be derived from animal generic drug 

11 user fees authorized by 21 U.S.C. 379j–21, and shall be 

12 credited to this account and remain available until ex13 pended; $672,000,000 shall be derived from tobacco prod14 uct user fees authorized by 21 U.S.C. 387s, and shall be 

15 credited to this account and remain available until ex16 pended: Provided further, That in addition to and notwith17 standing any other provision under this heading, amounts 

18 collected for prescription drug user fees, medical device 

19 user fees, human generic drug user fees, biosimilar biologi20 cal product user fees, animal drug user fees, and animal 

21 generic drug user fees that exceed the respective fiscal 

22 year 2018 limitations are appropriated and shall be cred23 ited to this account and remain available until expended: 

24 Provided further, That fees derived from prescription drug, 

25 medical device, human generic drug, biosimilar biological 
64 

•S 1603 PCS

1 product, animal drug, and animal generic drug assess2 ments for fiscal year 2018, including any such fees col3 lected prior to fiscal year 2018 but credited for fiscal year 

4 2018, shall be subject to the fiscal year 2018 limitations: 

5 Provided further, That the Secretary may accept payment 

6 during fiscal year 2018 of user fees specified under this 

7 heading and authorized for fiscal year 2019, prior to the 

8 due date for such fees, and that amounts of such fees as9 sessed for fiscal year 2019 for which the Secretary accepts 

10 payment in fiscal year 2018 shall not be included in 

11 amounts under this heading: Provided further, That none 

12 of these funds shall be used to develop, establish, or oper13 ate any program of user fees authorized by 31 U.S.C. 

14 9701: Provided further, That of the total amount appro15 priated: (1) $1,026,003,000 shall be for the Center for 

16 Food Safety and Applied Nutrition and related field activi17 ties in the Office of Regulatory Affairs; (2) 

18 $1,634,678,000 shall be for the Center for Drug Evalua19 tion and Research and related field activities in the Office 

20 of Regulatory Affairs; (3) $374,233,000 shall be for the 

21 Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research and for re22 lated field activities in the Office of Regulatory Affairs; 

23 (4) $195,349,000 shall be for the Center for Veterinary 

24 Medicine and for related field activities in the Office of 

25 Regulatory Affairs; (5) $487,536,000 shall be for the Cen-
65 

•S 1603 PCS

1 ter for Devices and Radiological Health and for related 

2 field activities in the Office of Regulatory Affairs; (6) 

3 $63,331,000 shall be for the National Center for Toxi4 cological Research; (7) $625,646,000 shall be for the Cen5 ter for Tobacco Products and for related field activities 

6 in the Office of Regulatory Affairs; (8) not to exceed 

7 $178,785,000 shall be for Rent and Related activities, of 

8 which $51,973,000 is for White Oak Consolidation, other 

9 than the amounts paid to the General Services Adminis10 tration for rent; (9) not to exceed $237,871,000 shall be 

11 for payments to the General Services Administration for 

12 rent; and (10) $323,513,000 shall be for other activities, 

13 including the Office of the Commissioner of Food and 

14 Drugs, the Office of Foods and Veterinary Medicine, the 

15 Office of Medical and Tobacco Products, the Office of 

16 Global and Regulatory Policy, the Office of Operations, 

17 the Office of the Chief Scientist, and central services for 

18 these offices: Provided further, That not to exceed $25,000 

19 of this amount shall be for official reception and represen20 tation expenses, not otherwise provided for, as determined 

21 by the Commissioner: Provided further, That any transfer 

22 of funds pursuant to section 770(n) of the Federal Food, 

23 Drug, and Cosmetic Act (21 U.S.C. 379dd(n)) shall only 

24 be from amounts made available under this heading for 

25 other activities: Provided further, That of the amounts 
66 

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1 that are made available under this heading for ‘‘other ac2 tivities’’, and that are not derived from user fees, 

3 $1,500,000 shall be transferred to and merged with the 

4 appropriation for ‘‘Department of Health and Human 

5 Services—Office of Inspector General’’ for oversight of the 

6 programs and operations of the Food and Drug Adminis7 tration and shall be in addition to funds otherwise made 

8 available for oversight of the Food and Drug Administra9 tion: Provided further, That funds may be transferred 

10 from one specified activity to another with the prior ap11 proval of the Committees on Appropriations of both 

12 Houses of Congress. 

13 In addition, mammography user fees authorized by 

14 42 U.S.C. 263b, export certification user fees authorized 

15 by 21 U.S.C. 381, priority review user fees authorized by 

16 21 U.S.C. 360n and 360ff, food and feed recall fees, food 

17 reinspection fees, and voluntary qualified importer pro18 gram fees authorized by 21 U.S.C. 379j–31, outsourcing 

19 facility fees authorized by 21 U.S.C. 379j–62, prescription 

20 drug wholesale distributor licensing and inspection fees 

21 authorized by 21 U.S.C. 353(e)(3), third-party logistics 

22 provider licensing and inspection fees authorized by 21 

23 U.S.C. 360eee–3(c)(1), third-party auditor fees authorized 

24 by 21 U.S.C. 384d(c)(8), and medical countermeasure pri25 ority review voucher user fees authorized by 21 U.S.C. 
67 

•S 1603 PCS

1 360bbb–4a, shall be credited to this account, to remain 

2 available until expended. 

3 BUILDINGS AND FACILITIES

4 For plans, construction, repair, improvement, exten5 sion, alteration, demolition, and purchase of fixed equip6 ment or facilities of or used by the Food and Drug Admin7 istration, where not otherwise provided, $11,788,000, to 

8 remain available until expended. 

9 FDA INNOVATION ACCOUNT, CURES ACT

10 For necessary expenses to carry out the purposes de11 scribed under section 1002(b)(4) of the 21st Century 

12 Cures Act, in addition to amounts available for such pur13 poses under the heading ‘‘Salaries and Expenses’’, 

14 $60,000,000, to remain available until expended: Pro15 vided, That amounts appropriated in this paragraph are 

16 appropriated pursuant to section 1002(b)(3) of the 21st 

17 Century Cures Act, are to be derived from amounts trans18 ferred under section 1002(b)(2)(A) of such Act, and may 

19 be transferred by the Commissioner of Food and Drugs 

20 to the appropriation for ‘‘Department of Health and 

21 Human Services—Food and Drug Administration— Sala22 ries and Expenses’’ solely for the purposes provided in 

23 such Act: Provided further, That upon a determination by 

24 the Commissioner that funds transferred pursuant to the 

25 previous proviso are not necessary for the purposes pro-
68 

•S 1603 PCS

1 vided, such amounts may be transferred back to the ac2 count: Provided further, That such transfer authority is 

3 in addition to any other transfer authority provided by 

4 law. 

5 INDEPENDENT AGENCY 

6 FARM CREDIT ADMINISTRATION

7 LIMITATION ON ADMINISTRATIVE EXPENSES

8 Not to exceed $69,000,000 (from assessments col9 lected from farm credit institutions, including the Federal 

10 Agricultural Mortgage Corporation) shall be obligated 

11 during the current fiscal year for administrative expenses 

12 as authorized under 12 U.S.C. 2249: Provided, That this 

13 limitation shall not apply to expenses associated with re14 ceiverships: Provided further, That the agency may exceed 

15 this limitation by up to 10 percent with notification to the 

16 Committees on Appropriations of both Houses of Con17 gress. 
69 

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1 TITLE VII 

2 GENERAL PROVISIONS 

3 (INCLUDING RESCISSIONS AND TRANSFERS OF FUNDS)

4 SEC. 701. Within the unit limit of cost fixed by law, 

5 appropriations and authorizations made for the Depart6 ment of Agriculture for the current fiscal year under this 

7 Act shall be available for the purchase, in addition to those 

8 specifically provided for, of not to exceed 71 passenger 

9 motor vehicles of which 68 shall be for replacement only, 

10 and for the hire of such vehicles: Provided, That notwith11 standing this section, the only purchase of new passenger 

12 vehicles shall be for those determined by the Secretary to 

13 be necessary for transportation safety, to reduce oper14 ational costs, and for the protection of life, property, and 

15 public safety. 

16 SEC. 702. Notwithstanding any other provision of 

17 this Act, the Secretary of Agriculture may transfer unobli18 gated balances of discretionary funds appropriated by this 

19 Act or any other available unobligated discretionary bal20 ances that are remaining available of the Department of 

21 Agriculture to the Working Capital Fund for the acquisi22 tion of plant and capital equipment necessary for the deliv23 ery of financial, administrative, and information tech24 nology services of primary benefit to the agencies of the 

25 Department of Agriculture, such transferred funds to re-
70 

•S 1603 PCS

1 main available until expended: Provided, That none of the 

2 funds made available by this Act or any other Act shall 

3 be transferred to the Working Capital Fund without the 

4 prior approval of the agency administrator: Provided fur5 ther, That none of the funds transferred to the Working 

6 Capital Fund pursuant to this section shall be available 

7 for obligation without written notification to and the prior 

8 approval of the Committees on Appropriations of both 

9 Houses of Congress: Provided further, That none of the 

10 funds appropriated by this Act or made available to the 

11 Department’s Working Capital Fund shall be available for 

12 obligation or expenditure to make any changes to the De13 partment’s National Finance Center without written noti14 fication to and prior approval of the Committees on Ap15 propriations of both Houses of Congress as required by 

16 section 717 of this Act: Provided further, That of annual 

17 income amounts in the Working Capital Fund of the De18 partment of Agriculture allocated for the National Fi19 nance Center, the Secretary may reserve not more than 

20 4 percent for the replacement or acquisition of capital 

21 equipment, including equipment for the improvement and 

22 implementation of a financial management plan, informa23 tion technology, and other systems of the National Fi24 nance Center or to pay any unforeseen, extraordinary cost 

25 of the National Finance Center: Provided further, That 
71 

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1 none of the amounts reserved shall be available for obliga2 tion unless the Secretary submits written notification of 

3 the obligation to the Committees on Appropriations of 

4 both Houses of Congress: Provided further, That the limi5 tation on the obligation of funds pending notification to 

6 Congressional Committees shall not apply to any obliga7 tion that, as determined by the Secretary, is necessary to 

8 respond to a declared state of emergency that significantly 

9 impacts the operations of the National Finance Center; 

10 or to evacuate employees of the National Finance Center 

11 to a safe haven to continue operations of the National Fi12 nance Center. 

13 SEC. 703. No part of any appropriation contained in 

14 this Act shall remain available for obligation beyond the 

15 current fiscal year unless expressly so provided herein. 

16 SEC. 704. No funds appropriated by this Act may be 

17 used to pay negotiated indirect cost rates on cooperative 

18 agreements or similar arrangements between the United 

19 States Department of Agriculture and nonprofit institu20 tions in excess of 10 percent of the total direct cost of 

21 the agreement when the purpose of such cooperative ar22 rangements is to carry out programs of mutual interest 

23 between the two parties. This does not preclude appro24 priate payment of indirect costs on grants and contracts 

25 with such institutions when such indirect costs are com-
72 

•S 1603 PCS

1 puted on a similar basis for all agencies for which appro2 priations are provided in this Act. 

3 SEC. 705. Appropriations to the Department of Agri4 culture for the cost of direct and guaranteed loans made 

5 available in the current fiscal year shall remain available 

6 until expended to disburse obligations made in the current 

7 fiscal year for the following accounts: the Rural Develop8 ment Loan Fund program account, the Rural Electrifica9 tion and Telecommunication Loans program account, and 

10 the Rural Housing Insurance Fund program account. 

11 SEC. 706. None of the funds made available to the 

12 Department of Agriculture by this Act may be used to ac13 quire new information technology systems or significant 

14 upgrades, as determined by the Office of the Chief Infor15 mation Officer, without the approval of the Chief Informa16 tion Officer and the concurrence of the Executive Informa17 tion Technology Investment Review Board: Provided, That 

18 notwithstanding any other provision of law, none of the 

19 funds appropriated or otherwise made available by this 

20 Act may be transferred to the Office of the Chief Informa21 tion Officer without written notification to and the prior 

22 approval of the Committees on Appropriations of both 

23 Houses of Congress: Provided further, That, notwith24 standing section 11319 of title 40, United States Code, 

25 none of the funds available to the Department of Agri-
73 

•S 1603 PCS

1 culture for information technology shall be obligated for 

2 projects, contracts, or other agreements over $25,000 

3 prior to receipt of written approval by the Chief Informa4 tion Officer: Provided further, That the Chief Information 

5 Officer may authorize an agency to obligate funds without 

6 written approval from the Chief Information Officer for 

7 projects, contracts, or other agreements up to $250,000 

8 based upon the performance of an agency measured 

9 against the performance plan requirements described in 

10 the explanatory statement accompanying Public Law 113– 

11 235. 

12 SEC. 707. Funds made available under section 524(b) 

13 of the Federal Crop Insurance Act (7 U.S.C. 1524(b)) in 

14 the current fiscal year shall remain available until ex15 pended to disburse obligations made in the current fiscal 

16 year. 

17 SEC. 708. Notwithstanding any other provision of 

18 law, any former RUS borrower that has repaid or prepaid 

19 an insured, direct or guaranteed loan under the Rural 

20 Electrification Act of 1936, or any not-for-profit utility 

21 that is eligible to receive an insured or direct loan under 

22 such Act, shall be eligible for assistance under section 

23 313(b)(2)(B) of such Act in the same manner as a bor24 rower under such Act. 
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1 SEC. 709. Except as otherwise specifically provided 

2 by law, not more than $20,000,000 in unobligated bal3 ances from appropriations made available for salaries and 

4 expenses in this Act for the Farm Service Agency shall 

5 remain available through September 30, 2019, for infor6 mation technology expenses: Provided, That except as oth7 erwise specifically provided by law, unobligated balances 

8 from appropriations made available for salaries and ex9 penses in this Act for the Rural Development mission area 

10 shall remain available through September 30, 2019, for 

11 information technology expenses. 

12 SEC. 710. None of the funds appropriated or other13 wise made available by this Act may be used for first-class 

14 travel by the employees of agencies funded by this Act in 

15 contravention of sections 301–10.122 through 301–10.124 

16 of title 41, Code of Federal Regulations. 

17 SEC. 711. In the case of each program established 

18 or amended by the Agricultural Act of 2014 (Public Law 

19 113–79), other than by title I or subtitle A of title III 

20 of such Act, or programs for which indefinite amounts 

21 were provided in that Act, that is authorized or required 

22 to be carried out using funds of the Commodity Credit 

23 Corporation— 

24 (1) such funds shall be available for salaries 

25 and related administrative expenses, including tech-
75 

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1 nical assistance, associated with the implementation 

2 of the program, without regard to the limitation on 

3 the total amount of allotments and fund transfers 

4 contained in section 11 of the Commodity Credit 

5 Corporation Charter Act (15 U.S.C. 714i); and 

6 (2) the use of such funds for such purpose shall 

7 not be considered to be a fund transfer or allotment 

8 for purposes of applying the limitation on the total 

9 amount of allotments and fund transfers contained 

10 in such section. 

11 SEC. 712. Of the funds made available by this Act, 

12 not more than $2,000,000 shall be used to cover necessary 

13 expenses of activities related to all advisory committees, 

14 panels, commissions, and task forces of the Department 

15 of Agriculture, except for panels used to comply with nego16 tiated rule makings and panels used to evaluate competi17 tively awarded grants. 

18 SEC. 713. None of the funds in this Act shall be avail19 able to pay indirect costs charged against any agricultural 

20 research, education, or extension grant awards issued by 

21 the National Institute of Food and Agriculture that exceed 

22 30 percent of total Federal funds provided under each 

23 award: Provided, That notwithstanding section 1462 of 

24 the National Agricultural Research, Extension, and 

25 Teaching Policy Act of 1977 (7 U.S.C. 3310), funds pro-
76 

•S 1603 PCS

1 vided by this Act for grants awarded competitively by the 

2 National Institute of Food and Agriculture shall be avail3 able to pay full allowable indirect costs for each grant 

4 awarded under section 9 of the Small Business Act (15 

5 U.S.C. 638). 

6 SEC. 714. None of the funds appropriated or other7 wise made available by this or any other Act shall be used 

8 to pay the salaries and expenses of personnel to carry out 

9 the following: 

10 (1) The Watershed Rehabilitation program au11 thorized by section 14(h)(1) of the Watershed Pro12 tection and Flood Prevention Act (16 U.S.C. 

13 1012(h)(1)); 

14 (2) The Environmental Quality Incentives Pro15 gram as authorized by sections 1240–1240H of the 

16 Food Security Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 3839aa– 

17 3839aa–8) in excess of $1,456,000,000: Provided, 

18 That this limitation shall apply only to funds pro19 vided by section 1241(a)(5)(E) of the Food Security 

20 Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 3841(a)(5)(E)); 

21 (3) The Biomass Crop Assistance Program au22 thorized by section 9011 of the Farm Security and 

23 Rural Investment Act of 2002 (7 U.S.C. 8111); and 

24 (4) The Biorefinery, Renewable Chemical and 

25 Biobased Product Manufacturing Assistance pro-
77 

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1 gram as authorized by section 9003 of the Farm Se2 curity and Rural Investment Act of 2002 (7 U.S.C. 

3 8103) in excess of $139,000,000 of the funding 

4 made available by subsection (g)(1)(A) of that sec5 tion for all fiscal years. 

6 SEC. 715. Notwithstanding subsection (b) of section 

7 14222 of Public Law 110–246 (7 U.S.C. 612c–6; in this 

8 section referred to as ‘‘section 14222’’), none of the funds 

9 appropriated or otherwise made available by this or any 

10 other Act shall be used to pay the salaries and expenses 

11 of personnel to carry out a program under section 32 of 

12 the Act of August 24, 1935 (7 U.S.C. 612c; in this section 

13 referred to as ‘‘section 32’’) in excess of $878,255,000 (ex14 clusive of carryover appropriations from prior fiscal 

15 years), as follows: Child Nutrition Programs Entitlement 

16 Commodities—$465,000,000; State Option Contracts— 

17 $5,000,000; Removal of Defective Commodities— 

18 $2,500,000; Administration of Section 32 Commodity 

19 Purchases—$35,853,000: Provided, That of the total 

20 funds made available in the matter preceding this proviso 

21 that remain unobligated on October 1, 2018, such unobli22 gated balances shall carryover into the next fiscal year and 

23 shall remain available until expended for any of the three 

24 stated purposes of section 32, except that any such carry25 over funds used in accordance with clause (3) of section 
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1 32 may not exceed $75,000,000 and may not be obligated 

2 until the Secretary of Agriculture provides written notifi3 cation of the expenditures to the Committees on Appro4 priations of both Houses of Congress at least two weeks 

5 in advance: Provided further, That none of the funds made 

6 available in this Act or any other Act shall be used for 

7 salaries and expenses to carry out in this fiscal year sub8 section (i)(1)(E) of section 19 of the Richard B. Russell 

9 National School Lunch Act (42 U.S.C. 1769a), except in 

10 an amount that excludes the transfer of $125,000,000 of 

11 the funds to be transferred under subsection (c) of section 

12 14222, until October 1, 2018: Provided further, That 

13 $125,000,000 made available on October 1, 2018, to carry 

14 out such section 19 shall be excluded from the limitation 

15 described in subsection (b)(2)(A)(x) of section 14222: Pro16 vided further, That, with the exception of any available 

17 carryover funds authorized in the first proviso of this sec18 tion to be used for the purposes of clause (3) of section 

19 32, none of the funds appropriated or otherwise made 

20 available by this or any other Act shall be used to pay 

21 the salaries or expenses of any employee of the Depart22 ment of Agriculture or officer of the Commodity Credit 

23 Corporation to carry out clause (3) of section 32, or for 

24 any surplus removal activities or price support activities 

25 under section 5 of the Commodity Credit Corporation 
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1 Charter Act (15 U.S.C. 714c): Provided further, That the 

2 available unobligated balances under (b)(2)(A)(x) of sec3 tion 14222 in excess of the limitation set forth in this sec4 tion, excluding the amounts to be transferred pursuant to 

5 the second proviso of this section, are hereby permanently 

6 rescinded. 

7 SEC. 716. None of the funds appropriated by this or 

8 any other Act shall be used to pay the salaries and ex9 penses of personnel who prepare or submit appropriations 

10 language as part of the President’s budget submission to 

11 the Congress for programs under the jurisdiction of the 

12 Appropriations Subcommittees on Agriculture, Rural De13 velopment, Food and Drug Administration, and Related 

14 Agencies that assumes revenues or reflects a reduction 

15 from the previous year due to user fees proposals that 

16 have not been enacted into law prior to the submission 

17 of the budget unless such budget submission identifies 

18 which additional spending reductions should occur in the 

19 event the user fees proposals are not enacted prior to the 

20 date of the convening of a committee of conference for 

21 the fiscal year 2019 appropriations Act. 

22 SEC. 717. (a) None of the funds provided by this Act, 

23 or provided by previous appropriations Acts to the agen24 cies funded by this Act that remain available for obligation 

25 or expenditure in the current fiscal year, or provided from 
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1 any accounts in the Treasury derived by the collection of 

2 fees available to the agencies funded by this Act, shall be 

3 available for obligation or expenditure through a re4 programming, transfer of funds, or reimbursements as au5 thorized by the Economy Act, or in the case of the Depart6 ment of Agriculture, through use of the authority provided 

7 by section 702(b) of the Department of Agriculture Or8 ganic Act of 1944 (7 U.S.C. 2257) or section 8 of Public 

9 Law 89–106 (7 U.S.C. 2263), that— 

10 (1) creates new programs; 

11 (2) eliminates a program, project, or activity; 

12 (3) increases funds or personnel by any means 

13 for any project or activity for which funds have been 

14 denied or restricted; 

15 (4) relocates an office or employees; 

16 (5) reorganizes offices, programs, or activities; 

17 or 

18 (6) contracts out or privatizes any functions or 

19 activities presently performed by Federal employees; 

20 unless the Secretary of Agriculture or the Secretary of 

21 Health and Human Services (as the case may be) notifies 

22 in writing and receives approval from the Committees on 

23 Appropriations of both Houses of Congress at least 30 

24 days in advance of the reprogramming of such funds or 

25 the use of such authority. 
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1 (b) None of the funds provided by this Act, or pro2 vided by previous Appropriations Acts to the agencies 

3 funded by this Act that remain available for obligation or 

4 expenditure in the current fiscal year, or provided from 

5 any accounts in the Treasury derived by the collection of 

6 fees available to the agencies funded by this Act, shall be 

7 available for obligation or expenditure for activities, pro8 grams, or projects through a reprogramming or use of the 

9 authorities referred to in subsection (a) involving funds 

10 in excess of $500,000 or 10 percent, whichever is less, 

11 that— 

12 (1) augments existing programs, projects, or ac13 tivities; 

14 (2) reduces by 10 percent funding for any exist15 ing program, project, or activity, or numbers of per16 sonnel by 10 percent as approved by Congress; or 

17 (3) results from any general savings from a re18 duction in personnel which would result in a change 

19 in existing programs, activities, or projects as ap20 proved by Congress; unless the Secretary of Agri21 culture or the Secretary of Health and Human Serv22 ices (as the case may be) notifies in writing and re23 ceives approval from the Committees on Appropria24 tions of both Houses of Congress at least 30 days 
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1 in advance of the reprogramming or transfer of such 

2 funds or the use of such authority. 

3 (c) The Secretary of Agriculture or the Secretary of 

4 Health and Human Services shall notify in writing and 

5 receive approval from the Committees on Appropriations 

6 of both Houses of Congress before implementing any pro7 gram or activity not carried out during the previous fiscal 

8 year unless the program or activity is funded by this Act 

9 or specifically funded by any other Act. 

10 (d) None of the funds provided by this Act, or pro11 vided by previous Appropriations Acts to the agencies 

12 funded by this Act that remain available for obligation or 

13 expenditure in the current fiscal year, or provided from 

14 any accounts in the Treasury derived by the collection of 

15 fees available to the agencies funded by this Act, shall be 

16 available for— 

17 (1) modifying major capital investments fund18 ing levels, including information technology systems, 

19 that involves increasing or decreasing funds in the 

20 current fiscal year for the individual investment in 

21 excess of $500,000 or 10 percent of the total cost, 

22 whichever is less; 

23 (2) realigning or reorganizing new, current, or 

24 vacant positions or agency activities or functions to 
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1 establish a center, office, branch, or similar entity 

2 with five or more personnel; or 

3 (3) carrying out activities or functions that 

4 were not described in the budget request; unless the 

5 agencies funded by this Act notify, in writing, the 

6 Committees on Appropriations of both Houses of 

7 Congress at least 30 days in advance of using the 

8 funds for these purposes. 

9 (e) As described in this section, no funds may be used 

10 for any activities unless the Secretary of Agriculture or 

11 the Secretary of Health and Human Services receives from 

12 the Committee on Appropriations of both Houses of Con13 gress written or electronic mail confirmation of receipt of 

14 the notification as required in this section. 

15 SEC. 718. Notwithstanding section 310B(g)(5) of the 

16 Consolidated Farm and Rural Development Act (7 U.S.C. 

17 1932(g)(5)), the Secretary may assess a one-time fee for 

18 any guaranteed business and industry loan in an amount 

19 that does not exceed 3 percent of the guaranteed principal 

20 portion of the loan. 

21 SEC. 719. None of the funds appropriated or other22 wise made available to the Department of Agriculture, the 

23 Food and Drug Administration, or the Farm Credit Ad24 ministration shall be used to transmit or otherwise make 

25 available reports, questions, or responses to questions that 
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1 are a result of information requested for the appropria2 tions hearing process to any non-Department of Agri3 culture, non-Department of Health and Human Services, 

4 or non-Farm Credit Administration employee. 

5 SEC. 720. Unless otherwise authorized by existing 

6 law, none of the funds provided in this Act, may be used 

7 by an executive branch agency to produce any pre8 packaged news story intended for broadcast or distribution 

9 in the United States unless the story includes a clear noti10 fication within the text or audio of the prepackaged news 

11 story that the prepackaged news story was prepared or 

12 funded by that executive branch agency. 

13 SEC. 721. No employee of the Department of Agri14 culture may be detailed or assigned from an agency or 

15 office funded by this Act or any other Act to any other 

16 agency or office of the Department for more than 60 days 

17 in a fiscal year unless the individual’s employing agency 

18 or office is fully reimbursed by the receiving agency or 

19 office for the salary and expenses of the employee for the 

20 period of assignment. 

21 SEC. 722. None of the funds made available by this 

22 Act or any other Act may be used— 

23 (1) in contravention of section 7606 of the Ag24 ricultural Act of 2014 (7 U.S.C. 5940); or 
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1 (2) to prohibit the transportation, processing, 

2 sale, or use of industrial hemp, or seeds of such 

3 plant, that is grown or cultivated in accordance with 

4 subsection section 7606 of the Agricultural Act of 

5 2014, within or outside the State in which the indus6 trial hemp is grown or cultivated. 

7 SEC. 723. Not later than 30 days after the date of 

8 enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Agriculture, the 

9 Commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration, and 

10 the Chairman of the Farm Credit Administration shall 

11 submit to the Committees on Appropriations of both 

12 Houses of Congress a detailed spending plan by program, 

13 project, and activity for all the funds made available under 

14 this Act including appropriated user fees, as defined in 

15 the report accompanying this Act. 

16 SEC. 724. There is hereby appropriated $1,996,000 

17 to carry out section 1621 of Public Law 110–246. 

18 SEC. 725. The Secretary shall continue an inter19 mediary loan packaging program based on the pilot pro20 gram in effect for fiscal year 2013 for packaging and re21 viewing section 502 single family direct loans. The Sec22 retary shall continue agreements with current inter23 mediary organizations and with additional qualified inter24 mediary organizations. The Secretary shall work with 

25 these organizations to increase effectiveness of the section 
86 

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1 502 single family direct loan program in rural commu2 nities and shall set aside and make available from the na3 tional reserve section 502 loans an amount necessary to 

4 support the work of such intermediaries and provide a pri5 ority for review of such loans. 

6 SEC. 726. For loans and loan guarantees that do not 

7 require budget authority and the program level has been 

8 established in this Act, the Secretary of Agriculture may 

9 increase the program level for such loans and loan guaran10 tees by not more than 25 percent: Provided, That prior 

11 to the Secretary implementing such an increase, the Sec12 retary notifies, in writing, the Committees on Appropria13 tions of both Houses of Congress at least 15 days in ad14 vance. 

15 SEC. 727. None of the credit card refunds or rebates 

16 transferred to the Working Capital Fund pursuant to sec17 tion 729 of the Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and 

18 Drug Administration, and Related Agencies Appropria19 tions Act, 2002 (7 U.S.C. 2235a; Public Law 107–76) 

20 shall be available for obligation without written notifica21 tion to, and the prior approval of, the Committees on Ap22 propriations of both Houses of Congress: Provided, That 

23 the refunds or rebates so transferred shall be available for 

24 obligation only for the acquisition of plant and capital 

25 equipment necessary for the delivery of financial, adminis-
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1 trative, and information technology services of primary 

2 benefit to the agencies of the Department of Agriculture. 

3 SEC. 728. (a) CLARIFICATION ON COTTONSEED.— 

4 (1) DESIGNATION OF COTTONSEED AS A COV5 ERED COMMODITY.—Section 1111(6) of the Agricul6 tural Act of 2014 (7 U.S.C. 9011(6)) is amended— 

7 (A) by striking ‘‘The term’’ and inserting 

8 the following: 

9 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The term’’; and 

10 (B) by adding at the end the following: 

11 ‘‘(B) INCLUSION.—Effective beginning 

12 with the 2018 crop year, the term ‘covered com13 modity’ includes cottonseed.’’. 

14 (2) REFERENCE PRICE FOR COTTONSEED.— 

15 Section 1111(18) of the Agricultural Act of 2014 (7 

16 U.S.C. 9011(18)) is amended by adding at the end 

17 the following: 

18 ‘‘(O) For cottonseed, $15.00 per hundred19 weight.’’. 

20 (3) PAYMENT YIELD FOR COTTONSEED.—Sec21 tion 1113(b) of the Agricultural Act of 2014 (7 

22 U.S.C. 9013(b)) is amended by adding at the end 

23 the following: 

24 ‘‘(4) PAYMENT YIELD FOR COTTONSEED.— 
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1 ‘‘(A) PAYMENT YIELD.—Subject to sub2 paragraph (B), the payment yield for a farm 

3 for cottonseed shall be equal to 1.4 times the 

4 payment yield for upland cotton for the farm 

5 established under section 1104(e)(3) of the 

6 Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008 (7 

7 U.S.C. 8714(e)(3)) (as in effect on February 6, 

8 2014). 

9 ‘‘(B) UPDATE.—At the sole discretion of 

10 the owner of a farm, the owner of a farm shall 

11 have a 1-time opportunity to update the pay12 ment yield described in subparagraph (A) in ac13 cordance with subsection (d).’’. 

14 (4) PAYMENT ACRES.—Section 1114(b) of the 

15 Agricultural Act of 2014 (7 U.S.C. 9014(b)) is 

16 amended by adding at the end the following: 

17 ‘‘(4) COTTONSEED.—Effective for the 2018 

18 crop year and each crop year thereafter, the Sec19 retary shall allocate generic base acres for producers 

20 on a farm as follows: 

21 ‘‘(A) In the case of a farm on which no 

22 covered commodities (including cottonseed) 

23 were planted or were prevented from being 

24 planted at any time during each of the 2009 

25 through 2016 crop years, generic base acres 
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1 shall be allocated to unassigned crop base for 

2 which no payments may be made under section 

3 1116 or 1117. 

4 ‘‘(B) In the case of a farm not described 

5 in subparagraph (A), generic base acres shall be 

6 allocated— 

7 ‘‘(i) to cottonseed base acres in a 

8 quantity equal to the greater of— 

9 ‘‘(I) subject to subparagraph (C), 

10 80 percent of the generic base acres 

11 on the farm; and 

12 ‘‘(II) the average number of cot13 tonseed acres planted or prevented 

14 from being planted on the farm dur15 ing each of the 2009 through 2012 

16 crop years (not to exceed the total ge17 neric base acres on the farm); or 

18 ‘‘(ii) to base acres for covered com19 modities (including cottonseed), by apply20 ing subparagraphs (B), (D), (E), and (F) 

21 of section 1112(a)(3). 

22 ‘‘(C) In the case of a farm on which ge23 neric base acres are allocated under subpara24 graph (B)(i)(I), the remaining 20 percent of ge25 neric base acres shall be allocated to unassigned 
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1 crop base for which no payments may be made 

2 under section 1116 or 1117.’’. 

3 (5) RECORDKEEPING REGARDING UNASSIGNED

4 CROP BASE.—Section 1114 of the Agricultural Act 

5 of 2014 (7 U.S.C. 9014) is amended by adding at 

6 the end the following: 

7 ‘‘(f) UNASSIGNED CROP BASE.—The Secretary shall 

8 maintain information on generic base acres on a farm allo9 cated as unassigned crop base under subparagraphs (A) 

10 and (C) of subsection (b)(4).’’. 

11 (6) SPECIAL ELECTION PERIOD FOR PRICE

12 LOSS COVERAGE OR AGRICULTURE RISK COV13 ERAGE.—Section 1115 of the Agricultural Act of 

14 2014 (7 U.S.C. 9015) is amended— 

15 (A) in subsection (a), by striking ‘‘For’’ 

16 and inserting ‘‘Except as provided in subsection 

17 (g), for’’; and 

18 (B) by adding at the end the following: 

19 ‘‘(g) SPECIAL ELECTION.—In the case of a farm on 

20 which generic base acres are attributed to cottonseed or 

21 on which generic base acres are allocated to cottonseed, 

22 the producers on the farm shall be given the opportunity 

23 to make a new 1-time election under subsection (a) for 

24 the 2018 crop year and each crop year thereafter to reflect 
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1 the designation of cottonseed as a covered commodity 

2 under section 1111(6)(B).’’. 

3 (7) LOAN RATE.—Section 1202 of the Agricul4 tural Act of 2014 (7 U.S.C. 9032) is amended by 

5 adding at the end the following: 

6 ‘‘(c) COTTONSEED.— 

7 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—For purposes of section 

8 1116(b)(2) and paragraphs (1)(B)(ii) and 

9 (2)(A)(ii)(II) of section 1117(b), the loan rate for 

10 cottonseed shall be equal to $8.00 per hundred11 weight. 

12 ‘‘(2) EFFECT.—Nothing in this subsection au13 thorizes any nonrecourse marketing assistance loan 

14 under this subtitle for cottonseed.’’. 

15 (8) LIMITATION ON STACKED INCOME PROTEC16 TION PLAN FOR PRODUCERS OF UPLAND COTTON.— 

17 Section 508B of the Federal Crop Insurance Act (7 

18 U.S.C. 1508b) is amended by adding at the end the 

19 following: 

20 ‘‘(f) LIMITATION.—Effective beginning with the 2018 

21 crop year, a farm shall not be eligible for the Stacked In22 come Protection Plan for a crop year for which the farm 

23 is enrolled in coverage for cottonseed under— 

24 ‘‘(1) price loss coverage under section 1116 of 

25 the Agricultural Act of 2014 (7 U.S.C. 9016); or 
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1 ‘‘(2) agriculture risk coverage under section 

2 1117 of that Act (7 U.S.C. 9017).’’. 

3 (9) ADMINISTRATION.—The Secretary of Agri4 culture shall carry out the amendments made by this 

5 subsection in accordance with section 1601 of the 

6 Agricultural Act of 2014 (7 U.S.C. 9091). 

7 (10) APPLICATION.—The amendments made by 

8 this subsection shall apply beginning with the 2018 

9 crop year. 

10 (11) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—Section 

11 1114(b)(2) of the Agricultural Act of 2014 (7 

12 U.S.C. 9014(b)(2)) is amended by striking ‘‘para13 graphs (1)(B) and (2)(B)’’ and inserting ‘‘para14 graphs (1) and (2)’’. 

15 (b) MARGIN PROTECTION PROGRAM FOR DAIRY PRO16 DUCERS.— 

17 (1) MONTHLY CALCULATION OF ACTUAL DAIRY

18 PRODUCTION MARGIN.— 

19 (A) DEFINITIONS.—Section 1401 of the 

20 Agricultural Act of 2014 (7 U.S.C. 9051) is 

21 amended— 

22 (i) by striking paragraph (4); and 

23 (ii) by redesignating paragraphs (5) 

24 through (11) as paragraphs (4) through 

25 (10), respectively. 
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1 (B) CALCULATION OF ACTUAL DAIRY PRO2 DUCTION MARGIN.—Section 1402(b)(1) of the 

3 Agricultural Act of 2014 (7 U.S.C. 9052(b)(1)) 

4 is amended by striking ‘‘consecutive 2-month 

5 period’’ each place it appears and inserting 

6 ‘‘month’’. 

7 (C) MARGIN PROTECTION PAYMENTS.— 

8 Section 1406 of the Agricultural Act of 2014 (7 

9 U.S.C. 9056) is amended— 

10 (i) by striking ‘‘consecutive 2-month 

11 period’’ each place it appears and inserting 

12 ‘‘month’’; and 

13 (ii) in subsection (c)(2)(B), by strik14 ing ‘‘6’’ and inserting ‘‘12’’. 

15 (D) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments 

16 made by this paragraph take effect on Sep17 tember 1, 2018. 

18 (2) PARTICIPATION OF DAIRY OPERATIONS IN

19 MARGIN PROTECTION PROGRAM.— 

20 (A) IN GENERAL.—Section 1404 of the 

21 Agricultural Act of 2014 (7 U.S.C. 9054) is 

22 amended— 

23 (i) in subsection (b)— 

24 (I) in paragraph (1), by inserting 

25 ‘‘, including the establishment of a 
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1 date each coverage year by which a 

2 dairy operation shall register for the 

3 coverage year’’ before the period at 

4 the end; 

5 (II) by redesignating paragraphs 

6 (2) and (3) as paragraphs (3) and 

7 (4), respectively; and 

8 (III) by inserting after paragraph 

9 (1) the following: 

10 ‘‘(2) ELECTION.— 

11 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—For the 2019 through 

12 2023 coverage years, a dairy operation may 

13 make an irrevocable election to participate in 

14 the margin protection program. 

15 ‘‘(B) COVERAGE YEARS.—A dairy oper16 ation that elects to participate in the margin 

17 protection program under subparagraph (A) 

18 shall participate in the margin protection pro19 gram for the coverage year for which the par20 ticipating dairy operation elects to participate 

21 and each subsequent coverage year through cov22 erage year 2023.’’; and 

23 (ii) in subsection (c), by adding at the 

24 end the following: 
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1 ‘‘(4) EXEMPTION.—A limited resource, begin2 ning, veteran, or socially disadvantaged farmer, as 

3 defined by the Secretary, shall be exempt from the 

4 administrative fee under this subsection.’’. 

5 (B) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments 

6 made by this paragraph take effect on the date 

7 of enactment of this Act. 

8 (3) PRODUCTION HISTORY OF PARTICIPATING

9 DAIRY OPERATIONS.—Section 1405(a) of the Agri10 cultural Act of 2014 (7 U.S.C. 9055(a)) is amended 

11 by adding at the end the following: 

12 ‘‘(3) CONTINUED APPLICABILITY OF BASE PRO13 DUCTION HISTORY.—A production history estab14 lished for a dairy operation under paragraph (1) 

15 shall be the base production history for the dairy op16 eration in subsequent years (as adjusted under para17 graph (2)).’’. 

18 (4) PREMIUMS FOR MARGIN PROTECTION PRO19 GRAM.—Section 1407 of the Agricultural Act of 

20 2014 (7 U.S.C. 9057) is amended— 

21 (A) in subsection (b)— 

22 (i) by striking the subsection heading 

23 and inserting the following: ‘‘Tier I: Pre24 mium Per Hundredweight for First 

25 5,000,000 Pounds of Production.—’’; 
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1 (ii) in paragraph (1), by striking 

2 ‘‘4,000,000’’ and inserting ‘‘5,000,000’’; 

3 and 

4 (iii) in paragraph (2)— 

5 (I) by striking ‘‘$0.010’’ and in6 serting ‘‘None’’; 

7 (II) by striking ‘‘$0.025’’ and in8 serting ‘‘None’’; 

9 (III) by striking ‘‘$0.040’’ and 

10 inserting ‘‘$0.009’’; 

11 (IV) by striking ‘‘$0.055’’ and 

12 inserting ‘‘$0.017’’; 

13 (V) by striking ‘‘$0.090’’ and in14 serting ‘‘$0.043’’; 

15 (VI) by striking ‘‘$0.217’’ and 

16 inserting ‘‘$0.068’’; 

17 (VII) by striking ‘‘$0.300’’ and 

18 inserting ‘‘$0.094’’; and 

19 (VIII) by striking ‘‘$0.475’’ and 

20 inserting ‘‘$0.153’’; 

21 (B) in subsection (c)— 

22 (i) by striking the subsection heading 

23 and inserting the following: ‘‘Tier II: Pre24 mium Per Hundredweight for Production 

25 in Excess of 5,000,000 Pounds.—’’; and 
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1 (ii) in paragraph (1), by striking 

2 ‘‘4,000,000’’ and inserting ‘‘5,000,000’’; 

3 and 

4 (C) in subsection (e)(2), by striking ‘‘for a 

5 calendar year shall be legally obligated to pay 

6 the applicable premium for that calendar year’’ 

7 and inserting ‘‘shall be legally obligated to pay 

8 the applicable premium elected by the partici9 pating dairy operation for the coverage year’’. 

10 (5) EFFECTIVE DATE.—Except as provided in 

11 paragraphs (1)(D) and (2)(B), the amendments 

12 made by this subsection take effect on October 1, 

13 2018. 

14 SEC. 729. (a) Section 1240B of the Food Security 

15 Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 3839aa–2) is amended by striking 

16 subsection (a) and inserting the following: 

17 ‘‘(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—During each of the 2002 

18 through 2019 fiscal years, the Secretary shall provide pay19 ments to producers that enter into contracts with the Sec20 retary under the program.’’. 

21 (b) Section 1241 of the Food Security Act of 1985 

22 (16 U.S.C. 3841) is amended— 

23 (1) in subsection (a)— 

24 (A) in the matter preceding paragraph (1), 

25 by striking ‘‘2018’’ and inserting ‘‘2018 (and 
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1 fiscal year 2019 in the case of the program 

2 specified in paragraph (5))’’; and 

3 (B) in paragraph (5)(E), by striking ‘‘fis4 cal year 2018’’ and inserting ‘‘each of fiscal 

5 years 2018 through 2019’’; and 

6 (2) in subsection (b), by striking ‘‘2018’’ and 

7 inserting ‘‘2018 (and fiscal year 2019 in the case of 

8 the program specified in subsection (a)(5))’’. 

9 SEC. 730. Funds provided by this or any prior Appro10 priations Act for the Agriculture and Food Research Ini11 tiative under 7 U.S.C. 450i(b) shall be made available 

12 without regard to section 7128 of the Agricultural Act of 

13 2014 (7 U.S.C. 3371 note), under the matching require14 ments in laws in effect on the date before the date of en15 actment of such section: Provided, That the requirements 

16 of 7 U.S.C. 450i(b)(9) shall continue to apply. 

17 SEC. 731. There is hereby appropriated $8,000,000, 

18 to remain available until expended, to carry out section 

19 6407 of the Farm Security and Rural Investment Act of 

20 2002 (7 U.S.C. 8107a): Provided, That the Secretary may 

21 allow eligible entities to offer loans to customers in any 

22 part of their service territory and to offer loans to replace 

23 a manufactured housing unit with another manufactured 

24 housing unit, if replacement would be more cost effective 

25 in saving energy. 
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1 SEC. 732. In carrying out subsection (h) of section 

2 502 of the Housing Act of 1949 (42 U.S.C. 1472), the 

3 Secretary of Agriculture shall have the same authority 

4 with respect to loans guaranteed under such section and 

5 eligible lenders for such loans as the Secretary has under 

6 subsections (h) and (j) of section 538 of such Act (42 

7 U.S.C. 1490p–2) with respect to loans guaranteed under 

8 such section 538 and eligible lenders for such loans. 

9 SEC. 733. None of the funds made available by this 

10 Act may be used to propose, promulgate, or implement 

11 any rule, or take any other action with respect to, allowing 

12 or requiring information intended for a prescribing health 

13 care professional, in the case of a drug or biological prod14 uct subject to section 503(b)(1) of the Federal Food, 

15 Drug, and Cosmetic Act (21 U.S.C. 353(b)(1)), to be dis16 tributed to such professional electronically (in lieu of in 

17 paper form) unless and until a Federal law is enacted to 

18 allow or require such distribution. 

19 SEC. 734. None of the funds made available by this 

20 Act may be used to notify a sponsor or otherwise acknowl21 edge receipt of a submission for an exemption for inves22 tigational use of a drug or biological product under section 

23 505(i) of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (21 

24 U.S.C. 355(i)) or section 351(a)(3) of the Public Health 

25 Service Act (42 U.S.C. 262(a)(3)) in research in which 
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1 a human embryo is intentionally created or modified to 

2 include a heritable genetic modification. Any such submis3 sion shall be deemed to have not been received by the Sec4 retary, and the exemption may not go into effect. 

5 SEC. 735. None of the funds made available by this 

6 or any other Act may be used to carry out the final rule 

7 promulgated by the Food and Drug Administration and 

8 put into effect November 16, 2015, in regards to the haz9 ard analysis and risk-based preventive control require10 ments of the current good manufacturing practice, hazard 

11 analysis, and risk-based preventive controls for food for 

12 animals rule with respect to the regulation of the produc13 tion, distribution, sale, or receipt of dried spent grain by14 products of the alcoholic beverage production process. 

15 SEC. 736. There is hereby appropriated $1,000,000 

16 for the Secretary to carry out a pilot program that pro17 vides forestry inventory analysis, forest management and 

18 economic outcomes modelling for certain currently en19 rolled Conservation Reserve Program participants. The 

20 Secretary shall allow the Commodity Credit Corporation 

21 to enter into agreements with and provide grants to quali22 fied non-profit organizations dedicated to conservation, 

23 forestry and wildlife habitats, that also have experience in 

24 conducting accurate forest inventory analysis through the 

25 use of advanced, cost-effective technology. The Secretary 
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1 shall focus the analysis on lands enrolled for at least eight 

2 years and located in areas with a substantial concentration 

3 of acres enrolled under conservation practices devoted to 

4 multiple bottomland hardwood tree species including 

5 CP03, CP03A, CP11, CP22, CP31 and CP40. 

6 SEC. 737. In addition to amounts otherwise made 

7 available by this Act and notwithstanding the last sentence 

8 of 16 U.S.C. 1310, there is appropriated $4,000,000, to 

9 remain available until expended, to implement non-renew10 able agreements on eligible lands, including flooded agri11 cultural lands, as determined by the Secretary, under the 

12 Water Bank Act (16 U.S.C. 1301–1311). 

13 SEC. 738. No partially hydrogenated oils as defined 

14 in the order published by the Food and Drug Administra15 tion in the Federal Register on June 17, 2015 (80 Fed. 

16 Reg. 34650 et seq.) shall be deemed unsafe within the 

17 meaning of section 409(a) and no food that is introduced 

18 or delivered for introduction into interstate commerce that 

19 bears or contains a partially hydrogenated oil shall be 

20 deemed adulterated under sections 402(a)(1) or 

21 402(a)(2)(C)(i) by virtue of bearing or containing a par22 tially hydrogenated oil until the compliance date as speci23 fied in such order (June 18, 2018). 

24 SEC. 739. There is hereby appropriated $5,000,000, 

25 to remain available until September 30, 2019, for a pilot 
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1 program for the National Institute of Food and Agri2 culture to provide grants to nonprofit organizations for 

3 programs and services to establish and enhance farming 

4 and ranching opportunities for military veterans. 

5 SEC. 740. Section 1244 of the Food Security Act of 

6 1985 (16 U.S.C. 3844) is amended by adding at the end 

7 the following: 

8 ‘‘(m) EXEMPTION FROM CERTAIN REPORTING RE9 QUIREMENTS.— 

10 ‘‘(1) DEFINITION OF EXEMPTED PRODUCER.— 

11 In this subsection, the term ‘exempted producer’ 

12 means a producer or landowner eligible to partici13 pate in any conservation program administered by 

14 the Secretary. 

15 ‘‘(2) EXEMPTION.—Notwithstanding the Fed16 eral Funding Accountability and Transparency Act 

17 of 2006 (Public Law 109–282; 31 U.S.C. 6101 

18 note), the requirements of parts 25 and 170 of title 

19 2, Code of Federal Regulations (and any successor 

20 regulations), shall not apply with respect to assist21 ance received by an exempted producer from the 

22 Secretary, acting through the Natural Resources 

23 Conservation Service.’’. 

24 SEC. 741. Of the unobligated balances from amounts 

25 made available for the supplemental nutrition program as 
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1 authorized by section 17 of the Child Nutrition Act of 

2 1966 (42 U.S.C. 1786), $800,000,000 are hereby re3 scinded. 

4 SEC. 742. The Secretary shall set aside for Rural 

5 Economic Area Partnership (REAP) Zones, until August 

6 15, 2018, an amount of funds made available in title III 

7 under the headings of Rural Housing Insurance Fund 

8 Program Account, Mutual and Self-Help Housing Grants, 

9 Rural Housing Assistance Grants, Rural Community Fa10 cilities Program Account, Rural Business Program Ac11 count, Rural Development Loan Fund Program Account, 

12 and Rural Water and Waste Disposal Program Account, 

13 equal to the amount obligated in REAP Zones with re14 spect to funds provided under such headings in the most 

15 recent fiscal year any such funds were obligated under 

16 such headings for REAP Zones. 

17 SEC. 743. The Secretary may charge a fee for lenders 

18 to access Department loan guarantee systems in connec19 tion with such lenders’ participation in loan guarantee 

20 programs of the Rural Housing Service: Provided, That 

21 the funds collected from such fees shall be made available 

22 to the Secretary without further appropriation and such 

23 funds shall be deposited into the Rural Development Sala24 ries and Expense Account and shall remain available until 

25 expended for obligation and expenditure by the Secretary 
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1 for administrative expenses of the Rural Housing Service 

2 Loan Guarantee Program in addition to other available 

3 funds: Provided further, That such fees collected shall not 

4 exceed $50 per loan. 

5 SEC. 744. There is hereby appropriated $1,000,000, 

6 to remain available until expended, for the cost of loans 

7 and grants that is consistent with section 4206 of the Ag8 ricultural Act of 2014, for necessary expenses of the Sec9 retary to support projects that provide access to healthy 

10 food in underserved areas, to create and preserve quality 

11 jobs, and to revitalize low-income communities. 

12 SEC. 745. There is hereby appropriated $1,000,000, 

13 to remain available until expended, for a pilot program 

14 for the Secretary to provide grants to qualified non-profit 

15 organizations and public housing authorities to provide 

16 technical assistance, including financial and legal services, 

17 to RHS multi-family housing borrowers to facilitate the 

18 acquisition of RHS multi-family housing properties in 

19 areas where the Secretary determines a risk of loss of af20 fordable housing, by non-profit housing organizations and 

21 public housing authorities as authorized by law that com22 mit to keep such properties in the RHS multi-family hous23 ing program for a period of time as determined by the 

24 Secretary. 
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1 SEC. 746. (a) The Secretary of Agriculture (referred 

2 to in this section as the ‘‘Secretary’’) shall carry out a 

3 pilot program during fiscal year 2018 with respect to the 

4 2017 crop year for county-level agriculture risk coverage 

5 payments under section 1117(b)(1) of the Agricultural Act 

6 of 2014 (7 U.S.C. 9017(b)(1)), that provides all or some 

7 of the State Farm Service Agency offices in each State 

8 the opportunity to provide agricultural producers in the 

9 State a supplemental payment described in subsection (c) 

10 based on the alternate calculation method described in 

11 subsection (b) for 1 or more counties in a State if the 

12 office for that State determines that the alternate calcula13 tion method is necessary to ensure that, to the maximum 

14 extent practicable, there are not significant yield calcula15 tion disparities between comparable counties in the State. 

16 (b) The alternate calculation method referred to in 

17 subsection (a) is a method of calculating the actual yield 

18 for the 2017 crop year for county-level agriculture risk 

19 coverage payments under section 1117(b)(1) of the Agri20 cultural Act of 2014 (7 U.S.C. 9017(b)(1)), under 

21 which— 

22 (1) county data of the National Agricultural 

23 Statistics Service (referred to in this section as 

24 ‘‘NASS data’’) is used for the calculations; 
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1 (2) if there is insufficient NASS data for a 

2 county (as determined under standards of the Sec3 retary in effect as of the date of enactment of this 

4 Act) or the available NASS data produces a sub5 stantially disparate result, the calculation of the 

6 county yield is determined using comparable contig7 uous county NASS data as determined by the Farm 

8 Service Agency office in the applicable State; and 

9 (3) if there is insufficient NASS data for a 

10 comparable contiguous county (as determined under 

11 standards of the Secretary in effect as of the date 

12 of enactment of this Act), the calculation of the 

13 county yield is determined using reliable yield data 

14 from other sources, such as Risk Management Agen15 cy data, National Agricultural Statistics Service dis16 trict data, National Agricultural Statistics Service 

17 State yield data, or other data as determined by the 

18 Farm Service Agency office in the applicable State. 

19 (c)(1) A supplemental payment made under the pilot 

20 program established under this section may be made to 

21 an agricultural producer who is subject to the alternate 

22 calculation method described in subsection (b) if that agri23 cultural producer would otherwise receive a county-level 

24 agriculture risk coverage payment for the 2017 crop year 

25 in an amount that is less than the payment that the agri-
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1 cultural producer would receive under the alternate cal2 culation method. 

3 (2) The amount of a supplemental payment to 

4 an agricultural producer under this section may not 

5 exceed the difference between— 

6 (A) the payment that the agricultural pro7 ducer would have received without the alternate 

8 calculation method described in subsection (b); 

9 and 

10 (B) the payment that the agricultural pro11 ducer would receive using the alternate calcula12 tion method. 

13 (d)(1) There is appropriated to the Secretary, out of 

14 funds of the Treasury not otherwise appropriated, 

15 $5,000,000, to remain available until September 30, 2019, 

16 to carry out the pilot program described in this section. 

17 (2) Of the funds appropriated, the Secretary 

18 shall use not more than $5,000,000 to carry out the 

19 pilot program described in this section. 

20 (e)(1) To the maximum extent practicable, the Sec21 retary shall select States to participate in the pilot pro22 gram under this section so the cost of the pilot program 

23 equals the amount provided under subsection (d). 

24 (2) To the extent that the cost of the pilot pro25 gram exceeds the amount made available, the Sec-
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1 retary shall reduce all payments under the pilot pro2 gram on a pro rata basis. 

3 (f) Nothing in this section affects the calculation of 

4 actual yield for purposes of county-level agriculture risk 

5 coverage payments under section 1117(b)(1) of the Agri6 cultural Act of 2014 (7 U.S.C. 9017(b)(1)) other than 

7 payments made in accordance with the pilot program 

8 under this section. 

9 (g) A calculation of actual yield made using the alter10 nate calculation method described in subsection (b) shall 

11 not be used as a basis for any agriculture risk coverage 

12 payment determinations under section 1117 of the Agri13 cultural Act of 2014 (7 U.S.C. 9017) other than for pur14 poses of the pilot program under this section. 

15 SEC. 747. None of the funds made available by this 

16 Act may be used to implement, administer, or enforce the 

17 ‘‘variety’’ requirements of the final rule entitled ‘‘Enhanc18 ing Retailer Standards in the Supplemental Nutrition As19 sistance Program (SNAP)’’ published by the Department 

20 of Agriculture in the Federal Register on December 15, 

21 2016 (81 Fed. Reg. 90675) until the Secretary of Agri22 culture amends the definition of the term ‘‘variety’’ as de 

23 fined in section 278.1(b)(1)(ii)(C) of title 7, Code of Fed24 eral Regulations, and ‘‘variety’’ as applied in the definition 

25 of the term ‘‘staple food’’ as defined in section 271.2 of 
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1 title 7, Code of Federal Regulations, to increase the num2 ber of items that qualify as acceptable varieties in each 

3 staple food category so that the total number of such items 

4 in each staple food category exceeds the number of such 

5 items in each staple food category included in the final 

6 rule as published on December 15, 2016: Provided, That 

7 until the Secretary promulgates such regulatory amend8 ments, the Secretary shall apply the requirements regard9 ing acceptable varieties and breadth of stock to Supple10 mental Nutrition Assistance Program retailers that were 

11 in effect on the day before the date of the enactment of 

12 the Agricultural Act of 2014 (Public Law 113–79). 

13 SEC. 748. There is hereby appropriated $600,000 for 

14 the purposes of section 727 of division A of Public Law 

15 112–55. 

16 SEC. 749. In addition to amounts otherwise made 

17 available by this Act under the heading ‘‘Domestic Food 

18 Programs—Food and Nutrition Services—Child Nutrition 

19 Programs’’, there is appropriated $2,000,000, to remain 

20 available until September 30, 2019, to allow allied profes21 sional associations to develop a training program for 

22 school nutrition personnel that focuses on school food serv23 ice meal preparation and workforce development. 

24 SEC. 750. (a) None of the funds made available in 

25 this Act may be used to maintain or establish a computer 
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1 network unless such network blocks the viewing, 

2 downloading, and exchanging of pornography. 

3 (b) Nothing in subsection (a) shall limit the use of 

4 funds necessary for any Federal, State, tribal, or local law 

5 enforcement agency or any other entity carrying out crimi6 nal investigations, prosecution, or adjudication activities. 

7 SEC. 751. None of the funds made available by this 

8 Act may be used by the Food and Drug Administration 

9 to develop, issue, promote, or advance any regulations ap10 plicable to food manufacturers for population-wide sodium 

11 reduction actions or to develop, issue, promote or advance 

12 final guidance applicable to food manufacturers for long 

13 term population-wide sodium reduction actions until the 

14 date on which a dietary reference intake report with re15 spect to sodium is completed. 

16 SEC. 752. (a) There is hereby established in the 

17 Treasury of the United States a Working Capital Fund 

18 (the Fund) to be administered by the Food and Drug Ad19 ministration (FDA), without fiscal year limitation, for the 

20 payment of salaries, travel, and other expenses necessary 

21 to the maintenance and operation of (1) a supply service 

22 for the purchase, storage, handling, issuance, packing, or 

23 shipping of stationery, supplies, materials, equipment, and 

24 blank forms, for which stocks may be maintained to meet, 

25 in whole or in part, the needs of the FDA and requisitions 
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1 of other Government Offices, and (2) such other services 

2 as the Commissioner of the FDA, subject to review by the 

3 Secretary of Health and Human Services, determines may 

4 be performed more advantageously as central services. The 

5 Fund shall be reimbursed from applicable discretionary re6 sources, notwithstanding any otherwise applicable purpose 

7 limitations, available when services are performed or stock 

8 furnished, or in advance, on a basis of rates which shall 

9 include estimated or actual charges for personal services, 

10 materials, equipment, information technology, and other 

11 expenses. Charges for equipment and information tech12 nology shall include costs associated with maintenance, re13 pair, and depreciation (including improvement and re14 placement). 

15 (b) Of any discretionary resources appropriated in 

16 this Act for fiscal year 2018 for ‘‘Department of Health 

17 and Human Services, Food and Drug Administration, Sal18 aries and Expenses’’, not to exceed $5,000,000 of amounts 

19 available as of September 30 may be transferred to and 

20 merged with the Fund established under subsection (a), 

21 notwithstanding any otherwise applicable purpose limita22 tions. 

23 (c) No amounts may be transferred pursuant to this 

24 section that are designated by the Congress as an emer25 gency requirement pursuant to a concurrent resolution on 
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1 the budget or the Balanced Budget and Emergency Def2 icit Control Act of 1985. 

3 SEC. 753. For an additional amount for ‘‘Animal and 

4 Plant Health Inspection Service—Salaries and Expenses’’, 

5 $5,500,000, to remain available until September 30, 2019, 

6 for one-time control and management and associated ac7 tivities directly related to the multiple-agency response to 

8 citrus greening. 

9 SEC. 754. (a) Section 2 of the Watershed Protection 

10 and Flood Prevention Act (16 U.S.C. 1002) is amended 

11 in the matter following paragraph (3) by striking 

12 ‘‘$5,000,000’’ and inserting ‘‘$25,000,000’’. 

13 (b) Section 5 of the Watershed Protection and Flood 

14 Prevention Act (16 U.S.C. 1005) is amended— 

15 (1) in paragraph (3), by striking ‘‘$5,000,000’’ 

16 and inserting ‘‘$25,000,000’’; and 

17 (2) in paragraph (4), by striking ‘‘$5,000,000’’ 

18 and inserting ‘‘$25,000,000’’. 

19 SEC. 755. (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 231 of the De20 partment of Agriculture Reorganization Act of 1994 (7 

21 U.S.C. 6941) is amended— 

22 (1) in subsection (a), by striking ‘‘is authorized 

23 to’’ and inserting ‘‘shall’’; 

24 (2) in subsection (b), by striking ‘‘If the Sec25 retary’’ and all that follows through ‘‘the Under Sec-
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1 retary’’ and inserting ‘‘The Under Secretary of Agri2 culture for Rural Development’’; 

3 (3) by striking subsection (d); and 

4 (4) by redesignating subsection (e) as sub5 section (d). 

6 (b) AUTHORITY.—Section 296(b) of the Department 

7 of Agriculture Reorganization Act of 1994 (7 U.S.C. 

8 7014(b)) is amended by adding at the end the following: 

9 ‘‘(9) The authority of the Secretary to establish 

10 in the Department the position of Under Secretary 

11 of Agriculture for Rural Development under section 

12 231.’’. 

13 SEC. 756. Funds made available for ELAP assistance 

14 shall also be made available for the transporting of hay 

15 and livestock due to an eligible drought. 

16 SEC. 757. (a) Notwithstanding any other provision 

17 of law, for purposes of applying the Federal Food, Drug, 

18 and Cosmetic Act (21 U.S.C. 301 et seq.), the acceptable 

19 market name of any salmon that is genetically engineered 

20 shall include the words ‘‘genetically engineered’’ or ‘‘GE’’ 

21 prior to the existing acceptable market name. 

22 (b) During fiscal year 2018, the Food and Drug Ad23 ministration shall not allow the introduction or delivery 

24 for introduction into interstate commerce of any food that 

25 contains genetically engineered salmon until the Food and 
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1 Drug Administration publishes final labeling guidelines for 

2 informing consumers of such content. 

3 (c) For purposes of this section, salmon is genetically 

4 engineered if it has been modified by recombinant DNA 

5 (rDNA) techniques, including the entire lineage of salmon 

6 that contain the rDNA modification. 

7 SEC. 758. None of the funds made available by this 

8 Act may be used to pay the salaries or expenses of per9 sonnel— 

10 (1) to inspect horses under section 3 of the 

11 Federal Meat Inspection Act (21 U.S.C. 603); 

12 (2) to inspect horses under section 903 of the 

13 Federal Agriculture Improvement and Reform Act of 

14 1996 (7 U.S.C. 1901 note; Public Law 104–127); or 

15 (3) to implement or enforce section 352.19 of 

16 title 9, Code of Federal Regulations (or a successor 

17 regulation). 

18 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Agriculture, Rural De19 velopment, Food and Drug Administration, and Related 

20 Agencies Appropriations Act, 2018’’. 

Calendar No. 177 

115TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 1603 

[Report No. 115–131] 

A BILL 

Making appropriations for Agriculture, Rural Deposes. ending September 30, 2018, and for other pur- Related Agencies programs for the fiscal year velopment, Food and Drug Administration, and 

JULY 20, 2017 

Read twice and placed on the calendar